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Authors· Jason Bulmahn, Crystal Frasier, Jim Groves, Brandon Hodge, James Jacobs, Erik Mona, F. Wesley Schneider, and Jerome Virnich
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Table of Contents
Collectiou Memoraudum . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2 A letter from Djavin Vhrest, Curator of Apocrypha at the Forae Logos in Absalom, further
enumerating and warning against the dissemination of dangerous texts.
Mysteries of Golariou . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4 Gain new insight into the truth behind some of Golarion's oldest mysteries, from the very
creation of life to devious agendas as old as the stars.
Secret Societies ... 16 Mysterious organizations manipulate nations and destinies in world-spanning power
games. Learn their clandestine ways, and perhaps even join their shadowy ranks.
Esoteric Traditious . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 34 There's more to magic than preparing spells. Unlock the secrets of spirits, stars, scars, and
more with arcane traditions from across Golarion.
"ccult Writiugs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 56 Test your sanity and strength of will by poring through some of Golarion's most infamous
repositories of secret knowledge.
Refereuce This book refers to several other Pathfinder Roleplaying Game products using the following
abbreviations, yet these additional supplements are not required to make use of this book.
Readers interested in references to Pathfinder RPG hardcovers can find the complete rules of
these books available online for free at paizo.com/prd.
Advanced Player's Guide
Ultimate Combat
n pa120· Paizo Inc.
7120 185th Ave NE, Ste 120 Redmond, WA 98052-0577
paizo.com
APG
UC Ultimate Magic UM
This product is compliant with the Open Game License (OGL) and is suitable for use with the Pathfinder Roleplaying Game or the 3.5 edition of the world's oldest fantasy roleplaying game.
Product Identity: The following items are hereby identified as Product Identity, as defined in the Open Game License version 1.0a, Section 1(e), and are not Open Content: All trademarks, registered trademarks, proper names (characters, deities, etc.), dialogue, plots, storylines, locations, characters, artwork, and trade dress. (Elements that have previously been designated as Open Game Content or are in the public domain are not included in this declaration.)
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Collectiou Memoraudum
Being the eighth anniversary of my original request-and
as is becoming a regrettable tradition-I am resubmitting
my catalog of the most dangerous texts currently held
within the Forae Logos collections. In addition to a
copy of my original index, I have also included every
memorandum and update I've communicated to the
Department of Impossible Texts in the intervening years.
While I feel confident that this will be the season that
2
caution and reason prevails upon our assembly to remove
these documents from even their limited circulation,
I admit that my optimism has limits. I doubt I need to
remind my peers of the dangers posed by texts such as
these, and of the ability some authors have to wound more
efficiently than any swordmaster. The secrets of this world
are, occasionally, best left secret.
Regardless, in addition to the 1,822 pages you'll find
attached, what follows is a list of this year's addition to my
ongoing series of staid warnings and known calamities.
These include only the records currently being made
available to outside scholars and records that I have
newly come to be aware 0£ Any documents in the library's
surely non-existent secret collections, or already in my
department's keeping, are not included.
Accounts of the Lost Anne� by Lady Saphon Laghanni:
One reader's supposed memoirs of her dreambound
reading of the Lost Gospels of Tabris. While I'm convinced
that this text should be relegated to the fiction stacks,
the phrase "he comes to call" appears no fewer than nine
hundred times, each time misspelled in a different way. I
am certain there's a code or message here.
The Bur9undy Bowl, by Yisme the Candler: An
anatomist's sketchbook and exploration into the virtues
of bloodletting and leeching, this text makes frequent
veiled references to the macabre tome Unitin,g the Flesh,
as though that collection held actual text. In truth, it
switches between referencing Sutreiv Abdonnovi's
questionable Bonds and Red Rivers and, at times, the
Kuthite tome, Rites. This is nothing less than subtle
Kuthite propaganda.
Dwarven Smear, by Gaspard Vocci: A hate-filled screed
from the expatriate slums of Eleder. Amid the author's
half-literate, racist claptrap are hidden formulae for no
fewer than fourteen substances innocuous to most races
but poisonous to dwarves.
Fourteen Pa9es of Rain, by Quan Quan: Far longer than
fourteen pages, this folio is more than another collection
of naturalistic Xa Hoi meditative artistry. Page 280
clearly depicts the planet Castrovel in the Gigas Major
constellation, but as seen from an angle impossible for
any terrestrial astronomer. Regardless of whether
this depicts an alien sky, or a prior arrangement
of the heavens, the text deserves reconsideration.
Gird, by Gird: This text is not only intelligent, it is
self-aware. Only its cumbersome size and iron binding
have prevented its escape from the library on at least
three occasions of which I am aware. She seems very
interested in traveling to Oppara.
Hunter's Moon, by Ailson Kindler: In one of our
fourteen copies of this banal fiction, Chapter 21
features completely different wording. The
subject matter is the same, but the text has been rewritten
to include a five-word skip code that hides specific
directions to and from points unknown. Quill press in
Ardis calls this a "printing error."
Path.finder Chronicles, Volume 5, by (supposedly) Durvin
Gest: Is an utter forgery, likely created by some jealous
member of our local explorers' society. More than one
fanciful record in the collection urges the reader toward
thoroughly explored Jiskan sites or other known dooms.
The Red ShininB Star, by Father Scepter: This is more
than a text of children's rhymes and parables about
manners. The contents-particularly the red-inked
illustrations-can be traced precisely to popular Isgeri
copies of the Asmodean Monographs. It is not fit for our
young scholars collection.
The Romance ef the Cooper and the Hen Handler, by Lord
Lonteirre Jeanvar II: Is simply terrible.
Untitled #42,003, by Unknown: Are badly burned and
poorly redacted fragments of the corruptive text Secrets of
the Dreamin[j Dark. Even thoroughly damaged, this text still
presents a potential danger, especially to impressionable
readers and known stargazers.
Untitled #42,466, by Unknown: This book is the most
elaborate riffle scroll I have ever encountered. Its contents
elude me, though its size suggests incredible power.
Untitled #421880, by Unknown: I am quite certain this
fur-bound text began life as a bear. It has been permanently
polymorphed into this shape for unfathomable ends.
Viceroy, by Dardral the Lesser: A Brevic text concerning
the lifting and toppling of kings. Elaborate metaphors to
this effect are reinforced with illuminations throughout
the text. These illustrations contain hidden alchemical
formulae for the crafting of various philters of love and
other mind-manipulating elixirs.
The Words of Voxkel the Reader, by Voxva, Daughter
of Voxkel: Within this text are three words capable of
stealing one's literacy, as well as three words that can
grant literacy to the illiterate. Not a danger, you argue?
Then consider if the everyday Kellid were to understand
all that's been written about the everyday Kellid.
Although it is certainly within Curator Vives's authority
to deny me, I plan to-again-warn the Head Librarian
of the danger posed by these texts and petition that they
be immediately transferred to my department. I hope that
Curator Vives's decisions on this matter are made with
wisdom unclouded by any negativity lingering from our
past collaborations. I again offer her my sincerest apologies
for embalming dear Regalia, her tuatara, without her
permission, as well as any part I might have had in that
noble reptile's untimely end. I would reassert, though, that
the changes her familiar was undergoing warrant further
study and again offer my services in any future-post
mourning-dissection she wishes to pursue.
3
"CCVLT MYSTERIES
Mysterious Occultists I t 's no secret that mystery, horror, secret h i story, and
wei rd fantasy exert strong inf luences upon the Pathfinder
campa ign sett ing . Occult Mysteries br ings together some
of Pathfinder 's most ins id ious ly creative minds to revea l
many of Go la r ion's i ntoxicat ing secrets.
Lead Des igner and known heretic Jason Bu lmahn exto l s
the m i rac les of the fa i th of Razm i r.
Author, a rt ist , and ha rrower Crysta l F ras ie r d ivu lges
the myste r ies of the ha rrow and advanced methods of
fate man ipu la t ion .
Adventure author J im G roves sheds l i gh t on myst ica l
v istas of rea l i ty and the m ind with new reve lat ions on
the Aucturn En igma, the Harb ingers of Fate, and the Way
of the K i r in . His t i re less pen a lso transcr ibes the secrets of
the A/eh Almaktoum, the Book of 1,000 Whispers, and
T h e In ward-Facing Circle.
Adventure author and ant iquar ian Brandon Hodge
br ings to l ight the myster ies of sp i r i tua l i sm, the agendas
of the Esoteric Order of the Pa lat ine Eye, and the t ruths
h idden with in the Lost Gospels of Tobris.
Creative D i rector and Lovecraftian fanat ic James Jacobs
h i nts at the end less i nsan ity of the N ight Hera lds and the
Ve i led Masters, as we l l as document ing the reve lat ions of
the Secrets of the Dreaming Dork.
Pub l i sher and secret h i stor ian Er ik Mona unve i l s
the myster ies of the Kn ig hts of the loun Sta r and one
of Go la r ion's most e lus ive texts, vo l ume f ive of the
Pathfinder Chronicles.
Ed itor- in -ch ief and fea r j unk ie F. Wesley Schne ider
r i sks ter ror and torture to d ivu lge the existence of the
Anaphexia and the Aspis Consort i um's Conference Z,
b loody truths found wi th in Rituals of the Flesh, and a map
of the Cosmic Ca ravan .
F i na l ly, des igner and paranorma l s cho l a r Jerome Vi rn ich
de lves i nto the anc ient secrets of ea rth, sky, f lesh, and
fundamenta l order with Astro logy, Creat ion Myths, the
Exodus of the Gnomes, Mort if icat ion, and Numero logy.
Postscript
I once more call for the reopening of the investigation
into whatever phantom or lost intelligence operates in
Buricsheer Tower. Despite the Master of the Guard's
dismissive assurance of its safety, I feel obligated to restate
my warnings regarding its supposedly empty reading
lounge. No contractor, staff member, visiting scholar,
or other non-plagiarist should enter that room until its
safety can be verified by either a shaman of the Bekyar
people or, barring that, a member of Pharasma's clergy
with no less than forty-three years experience (though I
strongly recommend the former). Should we have a repeat
of last Calistril's gory display of asemic writing, it will not
be on my conscience.
Like any world, real or fictional, the Pathfinder �\} campaign setting is full of questions so large they
may never be adequately answered. It's a fact of the
setting that the gods are real and that magic can change
the fundamental principles of reality. Yet even in such a
fantasy universe, the answers to some mysteries lie outside
the reach of mortal minds.
This chapter examines five such mysteries, from the
creation myths of various cultures to the mysterious
disappearance of the fifth volume of the Pathfinder
Chronicles. Each section presents context for the underlying
question, the cultural implications of the enigma, and the
history of its study, as well as facts that are assumed to be
true by all but the most contrarian scholars. In addition,
each mystery includes a number of theories formulated
by the inhabitants of the Pathfinder campaign setting to
answer these questions. Such unverified theories are the
products of conj ecture and supposition, and in some
cases are outright fabrications promoted by far-reaching
conspiracies on a cosmic scale. Then again, some of them
might also be correct, at least in parts. That's the thing
about "big picture" questions-there may never be a way
to know anything for sure.
Mysteries as Plot HooJis Each of the mysteries presented in this chapter provides
a seed from which a GM can cultivate a rich and long
running campaign. You can interweave these pressing
questions into an existing Adventure Path or module
as a means of enriching the texture of the setting and
sparking curiosity and interest in your players, inspiring
players and their characters to look beyond just the plot
of the adventure itself. Alternatively, you may use these
overarching mysteries to provide a common through
line linking a number of otherwise unrelated adventures
together, using them as the narrative hook to drive the
characters' search for greater truths.
This chapter purposefully obscures the true answers to
the questions it asks as a means of allowing GMs to build
upon these questions, creating or choosing the answers
that best suit their individual campaigns. At the same time,
anything presented as a fact in the following pages should be
considered true, and is something a player character could
conceivably learn in the course of adventuring or through
study in the many institutions of learning in the Inner Sea
region. You may plan out which of the suggested theories
is true (and even invent your own truth), or you may let
player actions and collaborative storytelling dictate what
lies at the end of their journey. In either case, keep players
guessing about the truth, leavingjust enough plausibility in
every conspiracy theory and enough implausibility in every
otherwise reasonable supposition to keep them searching for
the next fact. If these large mysteries are handled correctly,
a GM can use them as a way to let the players' curiosity
effectively write the adventure for her.
5
"CCVLT MYSTERIES
The Ultimate Mystery Perhaps the greatest mystery in Golarion's long history,
and certainly the most pressing in the last century, is the •
truth behind Aroden's disappearance. While a veritable
mountain of evidence supports the assumption that
the Last Azlanti is dead-among it the formation of the
Worldwound, the advent of the Eye of Abendego, and the
end of reliable prophecy-no mortal possesses a true
account of the late god's fate. Theories regarding his death
are as numerous as the stars, and range from a battle with
Rovagug or Asmodeus, to a j ourney beyond the Outer
Sphere, to reincarnation as a mortal man destined to save
humanity through his sacrifice.
Whatever the truth, Pharasma holds the secrets of his
death close, and even the evil gods have not dared to leak
the information, if indeed they even know it themselves.
The fact that even Iomedae, who has now almost entirely
assimilated the last of the dead god's clergy into her
faith, has remained silent on the subject indicates that
the gods clearly do not intend to share their knowledge
of this monumental event with the people of Golarion.
And perhaps it's for the best that the inhabitants of
Golarion never know the true nature of events that
brought low a god and altered the fate of the world. After
all, if whatever managed to slay Aroden is still out there,
perhaps threatening the mortal world, then knowledge of
the danger it presents could tear society apart-ironically
ushering the very apocalypse that Aroden may have given
his life to prevent. If this is so, then the gods' frustrating
silence is one of the greatest gifts they can bestow.
As a GM, you may use whatever story of Aro den's death
works best for your campaign. The implications of his
death have rippled through the Pathfinder campaign
setting to such a degree that whatever truth you settle
upon can influence campaigns of any level and in any
part of the world. Feel free to build upon the theories
your players put forth, providing them the satisfaction
of uncovering as-yet-undiscovered revelations. Be sure to
keep the mystery alive, however, as the great questions of
the universe are a powerful motivator for characters and
players alike. After all, Aroden would have liked knowing
that his fate would keep humanity looking with hope
beyond the edges of the horizon.
Wl)y Mysteries? When dealing with the great mysteries of any setting,
it's tempting to spill all the secrets at once. Yet as every
magician knows, knowing how the trick is done isn't
ever as exciting as the illusion of magic. Don't be afraid
to never conclusively answer certain questions, as it will
inevitably be those unanswered questions that haunt
your players' imaginations and inspire new characters
and quests. As with so many things, the excitement and
adventure of secret information isn't in attaining it, but
in the attempt to do so.
TIJe Aucturo Eoi�ma No one knows what exactly caused this sudden
Osirian civilization has enjoyed three distinct peaks of
power and prosperity. The shortest of these periods, the
Second Age, lasted only 67 years. At the time, Osirion was
fiercely divided into four factions controlled by competing
dynasties. Yet for reasons that stymie even the greatest
scholars, in -1498 AR the rulers that would come to be
known as the Four Pharaohs of Ascension set aside their
distrust, united Osirion, and entered into a powerful
magical pact that bound their destinies together. They
proceeded to conquer and subsume neighboring nations,
including their vassal city-states of the former Tekritanin
League. Under the reign of the Four Pharaohs, Osirion
produced some of its most awe-inspiring and infamous
architectural and magical works, representing an abrupt
and radical advancement in magic and technology unheard
of since the time of the early god-kings of the First Age.
6
paradigm shift and technological leap, yet many modern
Osirionologists have noted the sudden and unprecedented
prevalence of the planet Aucturn in writings from that era.
To these scholars, the changes of the Second Age were the
direct result of contact-and perhaps an alliance-with
strange and powerful forces from the distant planet. The
nature and implications of this relationship stand at the
heart of the mystery known as the Aucturn Enigma.
The first widely read modern scholar of the Aucturn
Enigma was a Chelish Osirionologist, Paracount Imivus.
Written in 4657 AR, the original text of his seminal work,
the Aucturn Lexicon, still remains under lock and key in
the restricted section of the Grand Athenaeum in Egorian.
Imivus was not the earliest researcher into the Aucturn
Enigma, but he's nevertheless considered the most
authoritative contemporary scholar on the subject. Imivus is
widely credited with the discovery of the peculiar recurrence
of the numbers 11 and 56, their special connection to the
planet Aucturn, and the method of summoning the Four
Pharaohs' burial pyramid from the demi plane ofRamlock's
Hallow, the site of the paracount's own untimely demise.
While Imivus was penning the Aucturn Lexicon, an
adolescent Osirian Keleshite now known as the "Sand
Sage" accidentally discovered the first of the devices now
known as "countdown clocks." Devoting his life to the
study of the Aucturn Enigma, the Sand Sage has linked the
clocks to Aucturn but has yet to ascertain exactly what the
countdown represents-though he is fairly certain what
lies at the end of the countdown is nothing good.
Facts The adventurers flocking to Osirion since the Ruby
Prince opened its deserts to exploration regularly unearth
information about the nation's past, some of which sheds
light on the truth behind the Aucturn Enigma.
Countdown clocks come in various sizes and shapes, and
all of them maintain a synchronized, downward count from
an astronomically large number to zero. Each is believed to
have started in -1498 AR. It is difficult to determine precisely
when the clocks will reach zero, as tlie starting number is
unknown and the symbols do not descend at a uniform pace,
but rather at an irregular and often unpredictable rhythm.
The rate of descent notwithstanding, ifthe clocks were truly
set 6,212 years ago, even casual examination suggests tliey
must reach zero sometime before the end of the current
decade, possibly sooner. There are four known countdown
clocks as of 4714 AR, though rumors of otliers persist.
The numbers 11 and 56 figure prominently in everything
related to the Four Pharaohs and the Aucturn Enigma. This
includes, but is not limited to, architecture, time-keeping,
and sacred and arcane rituals. Aucturn is the nth planet
from the Sun in Golarion's solar system (though this has
only been true since the destruction of the Twins and
the creation of the Diaspora during the reign of ancient
Azlant). Every 56 years, Aucturn comes into alignment with
Golarion and a mysterious dark spot in the night sky that
the Osirians claimed was of particular significance. The
reign of the Four Pharaohs lasted 11 plus 56 years. These
examples only begin to scratch the surface of this pattern.
The much-debated Calosian Manuscript, written by a
native Osirionologist centuries after the end of the Second
Age, is the most forthright in its description ofinteractions
with creatures from Aucturn. According to it, floating
creatures referred to only as "the Emissaries" gave the
Four Pharaohs 11 gifts. Three of the 11 gifts were cited
outright as the Pact Stone, the Aqualinth ofTumen, and the
reality-altering mathematical concept known as the Final
Theorem. Additional suspected gifts are the Androsphinx of
Zukebri and an unknown device at Shotep-Kara. A primary
commercial and naval port 30 miles east ofTumen, Shotep
Kara was said to have access to secret sea-lanes that folded
space and reduced travel time. Since Shotep-Kara was
abandoned, many have searched its ruins for a device that
might cause this effect, but none have yet located it.
Scholars describe the Four Pharaohs as the beneficiaries
of a psychic phenomenon known as "mind quakes," which
could either expand their consciousness and perception-or
obliterate it. Visitors to the Androsphinx ofZukebri report
experiences that sound eerily similar. The sphinx radiates
a psychic scream that overwhelms all but a few individuals.
Those who are immune share no obvious connections or
commonalities. Those who can tolerate its psychic assault
long enough to get close to the sphinx report a strange black
sap seeping from the monument's eyes. It bears noting that
the Androsphinx is within relatively close proximity to three
other monuments constructed by the Four Pharaohs.
The Four Pharaohs were interred in a pyramid
constructed entirely out of veinstone. Veinstone does not
possess any known unusual properties, but the pyramid is
exceptional because veinstone is not native to Osirion. In
fact, veinstone is unknown in the Inner Sea region, with the
exception ofin Numeria-another nation with connections
to beings and technology from other worlds.
Theories While the wealth ofknowledge about the enigma continues
to grow, scholars find themselves no closer to an ultimate
answer, and each new discovery raises a dozen new
questions. The following are the most commonly held or
widely supported theories that exist today.
Gateway Between Worlds: The term syzy1JY refers to any
time three celestial bodies in a solar system form a straight
line. Ancient Osirians believed that a syzygy between the
sun, Golarion, and Aucturn allowed people to channel
great magic from that world, and also tracked a rarer event
occurring every 56 years, in which Golarion and Aucturn
come into alignment with a featureless but apparently
important part of the sky. Unlike other planets within the
solar system, Aucturn has no planetary gate connecting it
7
"CCVLT MYSTERIES
to other worlds, yet Osirians believed that the alignment
allowed travel between the planets every 56 years. The clocks
may count down to a time when a massive spatial rift opens •
between Golarion and Aucturn, permitting the sinister
inhabitants of that world to visit Golarion en masse.
Numerological Portents: The countdown clocks are
believed to have been counting down since -1498 AR. Were
one to count the solar years since that time and look for
significant correlations, the span of 6,215 and 6,216 years
holds a special significance. Dividing 6,215 years by 11 yields
the number 565, whereas 6,216 years divided by 56 yields the
number 11i. These are two instances where the numbers
11 and 56 divide into a period of elapsed years evenly and
also allude to the other number in the pattern, strongly
suggesting that the countdown clocks are counting down
to early 4718 AR. Assuming a special conjunction between
Golarion and Aucturn happens in 4718 AR, it is also possible
the same circumstances existed in 4606 AR-the year of
Aroden's death and the beginning of the Age of Lost Omens.
Psychic Awakening: The Androsphinx of Zukebri
radiates a continuous field of psychic energy that repels
all but those with psychic potential. Some posit that the
Four Pharaohs constructed the androsphinx to house and
protect a device, used to awaken their psychic potential,
under the (false) assumption that no one save them could
approach the monument. Now Lamashtan cultists often
worship at the site, mistaking the sphinx for an idol to their
goddess. If cult members were to gain access to the Sphinx
and acquire psychic powers, the threat they would pose to
every decent civilization would be enormous. Alternatively,
adventurers may seek the Sphinx to become psychically
activated themselves to combat a future invasion from
beyond the stars. Or this alien technology could be
mishandled and release a psychic shock wave that forcibly
rearranges the neural pathways of every sentient creature
for hundreds of miles. The resulting death toll could be
enormous, but might also leave Osirion with the largest
population of psychically active individuals Golarion has
ever known-a magical renaissance, and perhaps a rebirth
of the Osirian Empire .
Secret Sea- Lanes: The sea-lanes ofShotep-Kara became
mystically misaligned without routine calibration, shifting
them slightly out of sync with Golarion. This caused
the Osirian coastline to rise , sinking the now-lost city
of Xanchara. If the magical space-folding properties of
Shotep-Kara were to be restored and stabilized, every nation
and pirate kingdom with a sizable navy would battle to
control its secrets to gain mastery of the seas. The lost port
may also unlock the mystery of how so much veinstone
was transported so far from Numeria through a secret
sea-lane to the Lake ofMists and Veils. Clues to the nature
of veinstone itself may be unearthed, and many scholars
hope to uncover strange energies that can pass through
it like blood through a body-or thoughts through some
massive brain.
Creaticio Mytl?s aod Ori�io Sfories creation myth or origin story, but one with many. While
For most of Golarion's inhabitants, history begins at
Earthfall, with the Starstone shattering the face ofthe planet
and plunging it into a millennium of darkness. The cosmic
bombardment wiped away knowledge ofThassilon, Koloran,
Azlant, Ninshabur, and other advanced civilizations, leaving
their successors with only fragments of their legacies. Most
sentient creatures are content with the cultures that rose
from the ashes of Earthfall's holocaust, but scholars and
religious leaders sometimes take profound interest in the
history of pre-Earthfall Golarion, believing that its study
might uncover not only the origins of ancient relics and
ruins, but the key to life itsel£
Facts Historians are able to paint the history oflife on Golarion in
broad strokes based on archeological evidence, divination,
and oral tradition, but little in the way of detailed
documentation about its origin remains. While it's possible
to commune directly with deities-some of whom are
believed to have had a direct hand in the creation of the
multiverse and the intelligent life that inhabits it-the
gods are uniformly cryptic about the subject, and offer
seemingly contradictory responses that even the wisest
of sages cannot reconcile. The general consensus is that
Earthfall was preceded by three basic epochs: the Age of
Creation, the Age of Serpents, and the Age of Legend.
Existence in the Age of Creation was dominated by
several gods, the reclusive aboleths, and the mysterious
Vault Builders. During this time, the first mortal beings
began to populate Golarion, though the nature of those
beings is lost to time. That has not stopped cultures from
humans to dragons from defining their own mythologies
surrounding the creation of the world and their own races
(usually with their own race playing a suspiciously central
role in the proceedings).
The Age of Serpents was defined by the rise of the
serpentfolk-the first mortal race to hold true dominion
over large swaths of Golarion. Historians suggest that
serpentfolk rule during that age was widespread, spanning
not only several continents on Golarion, but perhaps
extending to several neighboring planetoids as well.
The Age of Legend saw the end of serpentfolk dominance,
their rule replaced by the humans of Azlant, the cyclopes of
Casmaron, and the dragons ofTian Xia. The Age of Legend
is the best documented of the pre-Earthfall ages, but even
so, little evidence of that time remains.
Theories Golarion is filled with a wide variety ofraces and cultures,
each with its own history, religions, and fables. This melange
of legends makes Golarion's origin and earliest history a
patchwork rather than a unified tapestry. Each race elaborates
on the common history as it becomes clear, or as it suits
their interests. Thus, Golarion is not a planet with a single
8
each of the dozens of sentient races has its own story to tell,
what follows is a few of the most common and compelling.
Devils: The infamous Book of the Damned claims that in
the beginning, before the start of creation, there were several
sparks ofintelligence floating in the infinite nothing. Two
of the most powerful were brothers, who named themselves
Asmodeus and Ihys. Both agreed on the act of creation, but
where Ihys desired equality and free will in his creations,
Asmodeus believed all such creations should be tools, and
nothing more; anything else would introduce chaos into
the perfect order of existence. Asmodeus eventually killed
his brother, yet lost the argument, and created Hell as a
refuge of perfect law until the rest of the newborn gods see
the error of their ways. As might be expected, this version
of creation is espoused primarily by the mortal church of
Asmodeus, with devils having no need of faith, and other
races rejecting or resenting the story.
Dragons: Dragons are among the oldest of all the mortal
races. Draconic lore holds that the origin of that race
stretches back to the very beginnings of the Age of Creation.
Apsu the Waybringer, now the god of metallic dragons, is
said to be one of the first two beings in the multi verse.
With his mate, Tiamat, Apsu was the progenitor of the gods,
including the world-rending Dahak. Known as the Endless
Destruction, Dahak is credited with destroying countless
worlds, maliciously imbuing Hell with its fiery aspect, and
creating the first metallic dragons to be hunted for sport.
Eventually, the violence perpetrated by Dahak became too
much for Apsu's conscience, and the Waybringer set forth
to end his creation's rampage. However, Tiamat interrupted
Apsu's mission, saving both Dahak and a number of the
wounded metallic dragons that were being slaughtered
in their effort to aid Apsu. This betrayal allowed Dahak
to remain incarnate, and still bestows great power to evil
dragons willing to make offerings to their former hunter. In
a cruel twist of fate, however, it also transformed the healed
metallic dragons into the races now known as chromatic
dragons, creatures that reject the mercy that created them
to pursue bloodlust, treasure, and power.
Dwarves: The origin of the dwarves lies in Golarion's
lightless depths, guarded by a race now known as the
duergar. Dwarven lore holds that Torag created Golarion
itself at his celestial forge, shaping it with his great hammer.
The stones and sparks that flew from Torag's anvil became
the dwarves, creatures embodying the essence of rock, whose
spirits are crafted of fire. Scholars debate the origin of
Golarion, but most agree that the dwarves were originally
a worker race, created by Torag and built for toil. When
Earthfall triggered the dwarves' prophetic Quest for Sky, they
also unknowingly began a voyage toward self-determination,
which culminated in their arrival on Golarion's surface.
Elves: Countless people have heard of Sovyrian, the
legendary refuge to which the elves retreated ahead of
Earthfall, and from which they returned more than 2,000
years ago. Yet even among the elves, very few know that this
refuge is in fact a nation on Golarion's neighboring planet,
Castrovel. The only well-known access point to Sovyrian
from Golarion is a portal deep in the heart of Iadara,
capital of Kyonin. While not even the elves themselves
know whether they first arose on Golarion or Castrovel,
it's undeniable that their settlement of Castrovel predates
any known evidence of them on Golarion. Proponents of
this theory believe it likely that the first elves arrived on
Golarion at the end of the Age of Serpents, as there is no
archeological evidence to suggest that the elves ever made
contact with the Ydersius Empire. Significant interaction
between elves and both the first humans and their aboleth
creators is evidenced by the behavior of the contemporary
elves of the Mordant Spire. This mysterious enclave of elves
speaks fluent Azlanti, and has a long-standing feud with
the deep-dwelling aboleths.
Scholars have a variety of competing theories regarding
why such a planetary migration may have occurred. Some
hold that Golarion is an outpost in a multi-planar elven
empire, the vastness of which can be accessed from Sovyrian.
Others believe that the elven homeworld is dying, or that
the faster-breeding Lashunta are overrunning the elves
there. Still others postulate that the elven race is seeking
something-an artifact, creature, or arcane secret-and
that Golarion's elves are watching for the appearance of
some esoteric sign.
Goblins: According to the First Songs of the goblins,
their origins lie in Lamashtu's theft of a quartet of
barghests from Asmodeus's kennel. The Mother of
Monsters unleashed the barghests to prey upon Golarion's
natives. During their rampages, the barghests discovered
that when they spilled human blood, it sprouted into small,
ferocious humanoids: the first goblins.
Goblin lore eventually turned these four barghests into
gods in their own right, and credited each with teaching
his or her offspring one of the basic tenets of goblin
society. From Hadregash the goblins learned to fight
in packs, using numbers to their advantage. Venkelvore
taught them the art of raiding, Zarongel instructed them
to ride their canine mounts, and Zogmugot relayed the
skill of scavenging. Though most of Golarion's legitimate
scholars won't deign to confirm this tale, the goblins hold
true to its teachings. To this day, they employ the skills
granted to them by their barghest forebears, who originally
unleashed the goblin annoyance on an unsuspecting world.
Humans: Humans are the dominant race on Golarion
and yet for those who know the dark secret, the origins of
that dominance can be traced back to the lightless depths
ofthe oceans, among the enormous aquatic monstrosities
known as the aboleths. Toward the end of the Age ofLegend,
the inscrutable aboleths chose to take an interest in the
primitive, nomadic tribes of humans that had arisen
across Golarion's surface. By organizing these scattered
peoples into a concrete society and gifting them with
"CCVLT MYSTERIES
technological marvels, the aboleths created the first true
human civilization-Azlant.
The Azlanti served their mysterious aboleth masters, •
while building a vast and culturally rich, continent
spanning empire west of Avistan, which boasted advanced
knowledge of arcane spellcraft, astrology, and architecture.
Eventually, after generations of advancement, the humans
grew to resent their masters and sought to escape their
servitude. In response to this affront, the aboleths united in
a ritual that sent the Starstone and numerous lesser meteors
hurtling toward Golarion. The resulting catastrophe, later
deemed "Earthfall," proved the end of Azlanti civilization, and
the last meaningful contact between humans and aboleths.
Excidus cif t)Je 6»cimes Though it is believed that individual gnomes have visited
the Material Plane for as long as it has existed, the gnomes
as a race first appeared en masse only several hundred
years after the ores and dwarves burst forth from Golarion's
dark interior, before the greatest human civilizations
sprouted from the ashes ofEarthfall. Some founded small
pockets of all-gnome civilization, leading lives of riotous
excitement. Yet far more set out to wander this strange
new world and integrate into other humanoid societies,
and today all-gnome settlements are relatively rare. The
fey like creatures' quirky senses of humor are infamous,
as is their penchant for illusory spellcraft. With their
curiosity, eccentric behavior, exaggerated appearances ,
and colorful personalities, gnomes are one of the most
recognizable races on Golarion.
Despite their integration into Golarion, gnomes are
actually an immigrant race. Originally appearing on the
Material Plane in -4202 AR, the gnomes were transplanted
from a coterminous plane of existence called the First
World. Touted by many scholars as the rough draft for
the Material Plane, the First World's landscape changes
seemingly on a whim, distances alter haphazardly, and the
fauna is a wild riot ofimprobable animals. Many creatures
found in the First World are crude prototypes or bizarre
evolutionary branches of those found elsewhere, and a
thriving primordial gnome population still exists in the
First World, their capriciousness an ideal match for the
shifting reality and endless novelty of their home plane.
Yet, for some mysterious reason, a huge number of
gnomes left their idyllic (for them) fey homeland for a
world filled with death, disease, and the Bleaching. This
seeming downgrade has puzzled scholars of every race-not
least of which being the gnomes themselves-for millennia.
Why would the gnomes leave a world that was seemingly
perfect for them, in order to settle such hostile territory?
Facts Scholars' inability to gain reliable information about the
First World hampers investigation into this seemingly
simple question. Many of the rules that eventually made
it into the final draft of the multiverse-like death, time,
and distance-do not apply in the First World, or are
instated in random and haphazard fashions, and most
of the gnomes' history (if such a thing can even exist on
their home plane) has been subsumed by its mutability.
However, a few facts can be gleaned from that plane's
interaction with the Material Plane.
Gnomes who don't continually pursue new and exciting
experiences suffer from an often-fatal affliction known as
the Bleaching. Symptoms include depression, apathy, and
madness, as well as a gradual fading of the gnomes' brightly
colored hair, skin, and eyes. A complete loss of color usually
coincides with death, yet a few afflicted gnomes manage to
survive the worst ravages of the condition and reach a sort of
10
depressed stasis, transforming into albino "bleachlings" no
longer at risk of death. Though it's easily avoidable and even
reversible through aggressive curiosity, the Bleaching is a
constant reminder that gnomes are far from their natural
habitats, and that their bodies are constantly under threat
from an inherently hostile environment.
Many scholars suspect that interplanar breaches were the
mechanisms by which the gnomes originally immigrated to
the Material Plane. Often thought to be naturally occurring
phenomena, breaches form when the barrier between
planes weakens, allowing energies and objects to transfer
between them. In the case of the First World, breaches result
in the leakage of stability into the fey homeland, and the
seepage of mutating fecundity into the Material Plane. Few
creatures intentionally travel this way, as they are usually
maladapted to survival on another plane, but gnomes'
curiosity may have driven them to explore the breaches.
In some cases, these breaches have even led to interplanar
commerce, such as via the legendary Witchmarket.
The prototypical gnomes still flourish in their original
First World habitat, which is now known to Golarion's
gnomes as the Place ofNo Consequence. Many of the traits
that seem terribly out of place in Golarion's gnomes
including a penchant for trickery, illusory magic, and
risk-taking-make perfect sense in a place devoid of
cause or effect. In their natural environment, deathless
feral gnomes can exercise their ample imaginations and
indulge in behavior that might be lethal or disastrous
on the Material Plane without worrying about its results.
This attitude reaffirms the inherent link that Golarion's
gnomes have with their primordial ancestors, and adds
to the mystery of why a select group chose to leave their
native soil.
Theories Scholars are continually puzzled by the presence on
Golarion of creatures so well adapted to life in the
First World that one can scarcely imagine them leaving
voluntarily for another plane. While Golarion, of course,
plays home to a wide variety of fey creatures, these are
usually relatively rare, and keep to themselves, often in
places where nature magic is strong or the barriers with
the First World are thin. Gnomes, however, thrive on the
Material Plane. Whether the cause of their exodus is truly
lost, or simply being withheld by one of the Eldest-the
godlike beings who rule the First World-is a matter for
debate. The following are several of the most popular
explanations for the gnomes' exodus.
Exile: Beings with sufficient willpower may shape
the wild and unruly fabric of the First World to their
will. The most adept at this practice are the powerful fey
entities called the Eldest, who pursue unknowable plots
and designs, vying for power and influence on a scale so
massive that it dwarfs the conscious mind. Some scholars
believe that, at some point, a large contingent of gnomes
took the wrong side in a civil conflict, refused to abide by
one of these beings' will, or simply meddled too vigorously
in a fey-lord's domain, resulting in their exile from the
First World. Those that promote this theory describe the
gnomes variously as political rebels, criminal outcasts, or
victims of religious persecution.
Explorers: Most scholars on Golarion point to gnomes'
maladaptation to the Material Plane as evidence that
the feylike humanoids are here either by accident or
necessity. However, a minority of academics believes that
the gnomes who came to Golarion knew full well that
they were entering a hostile plane, and were the most
curious of an inquisitive race. These gnome explorers
were searching not just for new lands, but for novel
experiences-experiences such as time, stability, hardship,
and mortality. Dedicated to drinking in all the new world
had to offer, they persisted in colonizing the Material
Plane , eventually losing the ability-or, perhaps, the
desire-to return to the First World.
Plague Bearers: Some gnomes believe that the Bleaching
first started in the First World, the result of magical
experimentation gone awry, or perhaps simply the plane's
randomness spawning a super-disease. Whatever the
initial cause, the virulence spread, and in a desperate
bid to save some of gnomekind, the Eldest cast all those
afflicted into the Material Plane, vowing to instantly slay
any of those who returned. Over time, the plague lost
its contagious nature and subsequent generations were
welcomed back, but by then the gnomes were already
enraptured with the Material Plane.
Prank Victims: Mischievousness is a trait common to
most fey creatures, but those who have had the dubious
pleasure of traveling with gnomes know that they approach
pranks and jokes with incredible zeal. It is no accident
that wherever gnomes are plentiful, a common saying
states, "Every time a gnome laughs-duck!" Some scholars
speculate that a large number of gnomes were tricked into
passing through a breach, unaware of the consequences of
their actions. It's also likely that the prankster was equally
ignorant of the full implications of his or her actions: a
being from the Place of No Consequence could hardly
foresee the death, disease, and Bleaching that awaited
his or her brethren on the Material Plane. In any event,
once the trap was sprung, and the breach sealed shut
behind them, the gnomes were trapped. Having no
choice but to forge ahead, they made do in a hostile new
plane. Some suspect that the culprit was the gnome god,
Nivi Rhombodazzle, while others think that perhaps the
inscrutable humor of the Eldest known as the Lantern
King was responsible.
Soul Seekers: One of the most popular theories holds
that gnomes traveled to the Material Plane in order to
explore and take part in the cycle of souls, from which the
First World is cut off. When they arrived, however, they
discovered that only beings born on the Material Plane
1 1
"CCVLT MYSTERIES
can bond with a soul from the Positive Energy Plane and
truly engage in the cycle, facing judgment after death
and passing into the Great Beyond. The boldest of them •
settled down and procreated so that their children might
understand the mystery. The discovery came with a cost,
however: the melding with souls not only made the new
gnomes mortal, but also gave them an allergic reaction
to the boredom of the Material Plane, as some part of
their bodies cried out for the flux and variety of the First
World. Thus was the origin of the Bleaching.
One lesser-known variant of this story says that the
gnomes' original experiment with souls didn't involve the
First World at all. In this tale, one of the Eldest-his or
her name now forgotten by history-aided the gnomes by
stealing souls from the cycle and bringing them to the First
World, setting himself or herself up as a new judge of souls.
Pharasma did not approve, and in addition to removing the
Eldest from power, also cast the impudent gnomes who'd
thought to experiment with souls into the Material Plane,
where they could follow the same cycle as everyone else-a
classic "be careful what you wish for" parable.
TIJe Veiled Masters playthings scurry while they entertained themselves
Azlant was the first, and some still argue the greatest,
of humanity's empires on Golarion. For thousands of
years, the First Empire flourished, and its citizens worked
great feats of magic, construction, science, and art. Their
influence stretched across oceans, spreading religions,
philosophies, and higher learning to many distant shores.
The discoveries and innovations of Azlant continue to
benefit humanity to this day.
Yet if dark rumors are to be believed, then for all
its accomplishments, Azlant was little more than an
experiment, and its citizens nothing more than puppets.
No Azlanti were truly in control of their fates, and the
expert manipulators known only as the "veiled masters"
were never far from the ancient Azlanti's thoughts. Their
agents could have been anywhere or anyone. They could
have been anywhere or anyone. They watched their
12
with a game of power and fate. When the veiled masters
wanted a change, it was a simple matter to do so through
assassination, economic manipulation, engineered
disasters, or even blatant magical control over the weather
or the zeitgeist of society.
That Azlant fell is a matter oflegend and history. When
its people began to count themselves as greater than the
veiled masters who provided for and watched over them,
these mysterious forces decided the grand experiment
was at an end. They withdrew to their hidden cities deep
under the sea and called down devastation from the skies
above, shattering Azlant and forever reshaping the face
and fate of Golarion.
But while Azlant has long since drowned, the veiled
masters remain. They are a patient force, and while they
have been amused by humanity's efforts to rebuild on their
own, they have not entirely abandoned the experiment.
They walk among Golarion's people still, watching how
society comports itself when no master pulls the strings
of every major event and significant discovery. They count
strange and sinister forces among their lesser agents
the shapechanging faceless stalkers, the hybrid horrors
known as the ulat-kini, and others stranger still. Those few
who know of Azlant's ties to the deeps often assume that
aboleths were themselves the veiled masters, yet the truth
is that even the mighty aboleths are only the masters' lesser
kin. True veiled masters control the thoughts of those
they wish to influence, can wrap themselves and their
environs in illusions, and can transform land-walking
creatures into aquatic slaves. They continue to this day
on their ageless mission of manipulation.
And they could be anyone.
Facts Although the exact details how Earthfall
was engineered are not wholly
understood, the creatures known
as aboleths are well known
today, if only as the subj ects
of numerous frightening
tales . The word "aboleth"
roughly translates from the
unpleasant language of
the veiled masters into
Taldane as "owner,"
11master," or even "god,"
depending on the translation
consulted. The aboleths dwell in
deep underwater cities, both in the lightless,
flooded expanses of the Darklands, and in the
open ocean depths. They are the most numerous
of their kind, but are ruled and manipulated in turn
by more dangerous species. As a whole, these ichthyic
aberrations refer to themselves as the "alghollthu," yet
the surface world ignorantly uses the name aboleth to
apply to all of their kind.
The lesser kin of these creatures can be found across
Golarion, acting as the masterminds behind cults, savage
tribes, secret societies, and cabals of all sorts. But it is
the veiled masters who inspire the greatest paranoia
among those unlucky few aware of their existence. Their
prodigious spellcasting abilities and mastery of runic
and mind-controlling magic make them dangerous foes
indeed. Veiled masters are most at home in the sea, but
their shapechanging powers allow them to walk on land
at will. As a result, they roam the world with impunity,
using creatures as they will, their experiments ever in
service to some sinister end.
The lifespan of a veiled master is unknown, but if the
masters are not immortal, they are surely longer-lived
than the most venerable of elves. This disturbing fact
was made abundantly clear nearly 3 centuries ago when
Aylana Cantesslu, the well-known and well-loved Mistress
of Crowns of the city of Macini, was revealed by a band
of adventurers to be a veiled master. Disguised as Aylana,
this veiled master had seized control of much of the city's
economy, and the revelation drove Macini into a recession
from which it took years to recover. Yet perhaps more
disturbing were the discoveries the adventurers made
while investigating Aylana's mansion, for there they found
irrefutable evidence that the veiled master had been active
since Macini's foundation, switching identities dozens
of times over the city's history as whim seized it. Worse
yet was the evidence recovered that suggested the veiled
master who died as Aylana was in contact with others of
its kind throughout the Inner Sea region. However, when
the adventurers attempted to follow up on this trail of
clues, these vanished without a trace.
Theories Few who know of them dispute the continued existence
of the veiled masters, yet the extent of their infiltration of
the surface world, as well as their total numbers, remain
a mystery. Some of the more pervasive theories regarding
the influence of the veiled masters and their overall plots
include the following.
Invisible Hands: Scholars who dare speak of their
suspicions regarding the veiled masters often find
themselves drawn down the rabbit hole of trying to figure
out which historical events can be laid at the masters'
feet. Certainly, no creature capable of fostering human
civilization and then summarily executing it would be
content to lie asleep for millennia-so where are their
fingerprints? Some believe that Galt's endless revolution is
the work of the veiled masters. Others feel that Rahadoum's
commitment to godlessness must doubtless be the work of
veiled masters who resent the idea of higher powers than
themselves, and who seek to place themselves highest
though opponents of this idea counter that Rahadoumi
13
"CCVLT MYSTERIES
would be the last people to bow before any master, deific
or otherwise. Many agree that the fracturing of the Taldan
Empire was the veiled masters's doing, as surely as if they •
called down a second Starstone.
The Masters' Masters: Just as the veiled masters rule
over their lesser aboleth kin, some suggest that even the
veiled masters themselves are not the most powerful of
their kind. Adventurers in the deepest recesses of Orv or
delvers of the most remote depths of the oceans tell tales
of shapeless, half-glimpsed things stirring in the murk;
of shoals of strange, wriggling swarms displaying unusual
intelligence; of eel-like monstrosities with mouths within
mouths within mouths; of armored leviathans that stride
like giants along the sea floor; and of even stranger visions.
These may simply be rare and unknown specimens of
deep-sea-dwelling life, yet their close proximity to aboleth
cities or the way in which aboleths and veiled masters seem
to defer to their presence suggests an altogether more
terrifying truth.
New Azlant: Some believe that the veiled masters have
been working to restart the failed experiment that was
Azlant-only this time, they are prepared for the onset
ofhumanity's hubris and arrogance. Conspiracy theorists
hold that Aroden himself was no Azlant, but was in fact
the greatest of the veiled masters. They point to Aroden's
raising of the Starstone as evidence, for what creature other
than one who called down the stone from the sky could
achieve such a feat? Largely viewed as a crackpot theory,
the conj ecture that Absalom was built to be a second,
smaller-scale Azlant is strangely compelling. If true, it
implies that the Starstone itself is nothing other than a
bauble designed by the veiled masters, a possibility with
disturbing implications for worshipers of the ascended
gods. Are Iomedae, Norgorber, and Cayden Cailean
nothing more than the greatest illusion the veiled masters
have ever perpetrated upon the world? And if they are in
fact deities, was their ascendance simply part of a plan by
the veiled masters to seat sleeper agents among the gods
themselves, waiting for the signal to put some unthinkably
vast endgame into play?
They Walk Among Us: The revelation of Aylana as
a veiled master s ent shock waves through the upper
e chelons of Cheliax's government, and for a time,
anyone in a position of power in Cheliax had to deal
with accusations of being a veiled master in disguise.
Fortunately, this time of mass paranoia was relatively
short lived; yet isolated pockets of these fears still rise. In
the last decade alone, personages no less than the Ruby
Prince of Osirion, Razmiran, the gold dragon Mengkare
of Hermea, at least three members of the Decemvirate,
numerous high-ranking members of the government
of Druma, and even Lord Gyr of Absalom have been
accused of being veiled masters in disguise. None of
these accusations have stuck, but in some cases those
who made these accusations have mysteriously vanished.
Volume 5 of tl?e Patl?fioder CIJrooicles For centuries, the greatest explorers of the Pathfinder
Society have recounted their exploits in the sporadically
published Pathfinder Chronicles. Issued as a series of
chapbooks from the Society's Absalom headquarters at
Skyreach, the Chronicles serve the dual purpose of allowing
Pathfinder agents to boast about their most thrilling and
lucrative adventures while also providing a map to be used
by lesser agents to pick up leftover scraps or follow up on
leads left unexplored by the chronicler. Whenever a new
volume is published (there have been nearly so since the
order established the Chronicles in 4317 AR), the Society
issues numerous copies to venture-captains, who further
disseminate them to field agents. Each publication tends
to lead to an exploration boom at the sites discussed
within it, and even centuries-old accounts retain value to
treasure-seekers hoping to discover the one chamber a
famous Pathfinder missed. Of all the mysteries unveiled
by the Pathfinder Society, those outlined in the infamous
Volume s of the Pathfinder Chronicles are said to be the
greatest and most valuable. Naturally, it's been hundreds
of years since anyone got a glimpse of a genuine copy.
For reasons speculated upon by even the most casual
new member of the Society, the powerful leaders of the
Pathfinder Society-the Decemvirate-recalled and
destroyed every copy ofVolume s within months of their
original issue. The official story involved errors of fact and
manufacture that could have led Pathfinders attempting to
retrace the paths outlined within it to certain doom, while
rumors swirled that at least one of the accounts-written
by a famous Pathfinder agent with strong connections to
the group's leadership-had been completely fabricated.
But corrected editions never subsequently appeared.
Over the years, secondary explorations of famous exploits
have turned up numerous high-profile fabrications-for
example, Volume S's account of the jewel-encrusted Isle
of Ixchit-Atlan, 100 miles south of Azlant, was proven
false after no fewer than seven ships of Pathfinder agents
sank in the treacherous storm waters of the open seas at
its supposed location. Yet while subsequent volumes may
refute the claims of others, never before or since Volume s
has the Society attempted to recall or correct all copies of
a volume of the Pathfinder Chronicles.
What could possibly be so offensive, so dangerous,
so anathema to the Society's leaders that the volume it
appeared in had to be recalled and all returned copies
destroyed? Within decades of the Volume s's disappearance,
the formerly approachable adventuring leaders of the
Society had fallen to infighting, and to wearing masks to
conceal their identities. To this day, whispers among the
Society suggest that the two may be connected, or that the
destroyed Volume s held secrets that condemn not just the
Society's early leadership, but the Society as a whole. In
an organization built on secrets, the contents ofVolume
s are perhaps the most important. And while no copy has
14
turned up in hundreds of years, it's a certainty that the
curious modern members of the Pathfinder Society will
never stop looking for it.
Facts Thirty-six years ago, a trio of young diviners from distant
lands met by chance at the Society's annual Grand
Convocation. Conversation on the enduring mysteries
of the organization's origins led to the augury-aided
discovery ofVolume s's original print order, misfiled in
the depths of the Society's bureaucratic machine. With this
list, the diviners discovered that of the S9 original copies,
48 went to agents based in Absalom, and only 11 were sent
by messenger to field agents throughout the Inner Sea
region. Of the copies in Absalom, all but three are recorded
as having been returned and destroyed. The foreign-bound
editions seem to have escaped the Decemvirate's recall
order, and hold the best promise of rediscovery. At best,
14 original copies ofVolume s still exist, though several
of those have no doubt been destroyed in the centuries
since their publication. A few alleged transcriptions of
fragments from Volume s have worked their way into
esoteric writings and near-forgotten travelogues, however,
and if these fragments can be trusted, then the bulk of
Volume s's contents concern the adventures of the great
questing hero Durvin Gest, one of the founding members
of the Pathfinder Society.
According to the writings of the scholar Yargos Gill,
the focus is Gest's exploration of the Darklands below
the city of Absalom, on a quest to discover a legendary
secret sub-temple called the Sanctum of Aroden, where
an order of knights with origins in Old Azlant guarded
the Living God's greatest treasures from his mortal life.
Anotlier account (transcriptions from tlie correspondence
ofGrivellus Rhodenso, Ustalav's famous "Baron Librarian'')
suggests instead that Volume 5 focused on Durvin Gest's
further adventures in the siege castles outside Absalom.
IfVolume z had added to Gest's legend by including his
catalog of 31 different ruins, dungeons, and war-works,
Volume 5 went beyond lists and furtive explorations to
illuminate secrets and dangers found within those edifices.
Although no portion ofRhodenso's quoted text includes
descriptions of the specific castles covered, the strong
implication is that they largely concerned the Spire of
Nex, the doorless, windowless mile-high tower thought
to include fragments of"stacked" demiplanes-complete
with living inhabitants and cultures-stored here to aid
the archmage in his failed attempt to sack the City at the
Center of the World. Tragically, the Baron Librarian's
collection of priceless tomes burned with him and his
fellow inhabitants of the Gulcharin Sanatorium in the
Great Ardis Fire of 4534.
It's possible that both accounts are true. Gest's 31 Siege
Castles and the secret Sanctum of Aroden are both located
on the Isle of Kortos near the city of Absalom, so it's not
too far a reach to conclude that the famous adventurer may
have written about both in the same volume. That these
mysterious locales lie so close to the Society's headquarters
and the politics ofits inner circle only increases the missing
volume's mystique among adventuring Pathfinders.
Theories While none alive know the truth ofVolume s's mysterious
contents, save perhaps the anonymous members of the
masked Decemvirate, numerous theories abound in
Pathfinder Society lodges across the Inner Sea and beyond.
The following are some of the more prevalent rumors
concerning its contents.
Dangerous Revelations: In the imaginations of most
Pathfinders, the contents ofVolume 5 must have presented
some sort of threat to the Society or the Decemvirate itself
to have prompted a full recall-though a threat that was
realized only after the volume was already published and
distributed. How this could be accomplished is the subject
of much debate: A secret code? Well-hidden subtext?
Glyphs worked into an illustration or a map? Yet to most
scholars, how the information was concealed is much less
important than what was concealed. A current popular
theory holds that Durvin Gest uncovered evidence that
the Society was in fact founded for malign purposes
by some sinister entity-possibilities include a veiled
master; Geryon, archdevil of forbidden knowledge; or
Tabris, the angelic author of the Book of the Damned.
The Nexus Lodge Connection: Durvin Gest officially
vanished from Golarion in 4360, but a close study of
contemporary accounts suggests that his last public
appearance on record was decades before, around 4345 AR,
when he presented a monograph on his adventures in
the southern kingdom of Nex, specifically its capital at
Quantium, to the Society's Grand Convocation. The diaries
and correspondence of Pathfinders present at the event
recount his presentation in vague detail, recalling that
Gest used a copy ofVolume 5 to illustrate details regarding
the archmage and the Spire ofNex outside Absalom, but
no record of this discussion exists in the Society's archives.
This lacuna-reports from lesser field agents presented
at the same conference exist in multitude-has led many
agents to believe that the Decemvirate redacted these
records in a similar fashion to Volume 5, and likely for
different reasons. It seems likely that Nex-whether the
wizard, the nation, the Spire, or
all three-has something to do
with the recall and cover-up.
Venture-Captain Shevala Iorae,
whose modern exploration of
the Spire of Nex fills most of
Volume 36, recalls in a footnote that
N ex's capital of Quan ti um was the site
of the very first Pathfinder Lodge, and that early
Nexian field agents like Gregaro Voth and Adolphus
1 5
"CCVLT MYSTERIES
were among the members of the Decemvirate at the time
Volume 5 disappeared.
Secrets of the Sanctum: If Volume 5 contained an •
account ofDurvin Gest's exploration ofthe secret Sanctum
of Aroden below Absalom, it's possible that the powerful
Church of Aroden had a hand in forcing the Decemvirate
to remove the Chronicle from the field. Hundreds of years
before Aroden's death at the start of the Age ofLost Omens,
Aro den's cult was by far the most powerful in Absalom in
both magical and political terms. The Sanctum was said
to contain an important "Test of Aroden" that inculcated
his most dedicated followers into an inner circle led by
the legendary Knights of the Ioun Star, with in-person
visits by the god himself long after he had otherwise
withdrawn from mortal life. It's possible that Durvin Gest
discovered secrets within that could pose significant threat
to the religion, an excellent motive and opportunity for
the church to step in and remove the volume from public
view. Some of the more credulous young members of the
Society even suggest that the god himself may have simply
willed the volumes out of existence, which would account
for the complete loss of the record to history.
� he Inner Sea and the lands beyond it are home
� to numerous secret societies devoted to occult
studies and esoteric traditions. Not all secret
societies are cults, but even those that are not can take
on cultish qualities, most notably in their efforts to keep
their existence and practices hidden from public view. A
character might join a secret society as a means of gaining
access to its secrets, but must commit to forwarding the
society's goals or lose the benefits of membership.
joioiog a Secret Society A character must pay a fee and pass an initiation test to
join a secret society. An initiation test consists of a skill
check of a type determined by the society, and a character
can attempt the test once every two service periods (a
length of time that varies according to each secret society).
Once a character is initiated, he must pay a periodic
donation to remain in the society until his Fame score
rises high enough to grant him permanent membership.
These costs, skills, and Fame score requirements vary by
society (see the following pages).
Beoefits of Membersl)ip The benefits of belonging to a secret society are
similar to those granted by a faction, save that instead
of increasing her standing by succeeding at missions
related to the organization's goals, a character must
succeed at periodic skill checks or complete other tasks
to advance her standing in the society. Secret societies
periodically reward activities taken on at a member's own
initiative, such as research, traveling, and adventuring;
these are noted on the following pages as appropriate,
but are typically left to the GM to develop as adventures.
A member's Fame score represents her status within
her secret society and tracks her success in conducting
the society's business. A low Fame score indicates she's
a new or a struggling member, while a high one could
enable her to become a permanent member or even a
group leader. To increase her Fame score, a character
must either succeed at Obeisance checks-skill checks
with a DC of 15 + her current ranks in that skill (see the
Service Periods sidebar on page 23) or perform specific
tasks. The methods by which she earns opportunities to
attempt Obeisance checks vary by school. A character's
Fame score increases by 1 every time she succeeds at an
Obeisance check or performs a task for her society. For
every 10 points of Fame a member possesses, she gains a
cumulative +i bonus on Diplomacy checks against other
members of that secret society. Fame is not expended
when an award granted by a society lists only a required
Fame score, a member receives the award automatically
when she achieves that Fame score.
Every time a character's Fame score increases, she also
earns an equal number of Prestige Points. A member's
Prestige Points (PP) reflect the goodwill, research
1 7
"CCVLT MYSTERIES
grants, and personal favors she has built up during her
service to the society. These points, when spent, are
spent permanently. Members cannot spend Prestige •
Points during combat, and cannot pool Prestige Points
to obtain more expensive rewards. Members must be at
their secret society's headquarters or otherwise able to
contact fellow members to spend them, with a single
exception-a member can spend Prestige Points if she
is dead, petrified, or otherwise out of commission. This
expenditure represents prior arrangements made with
her society to perform certain actions on her behalf, such
as having her raised from the dead. In this event, the
member's actual location does not impact the Prestige
Point cost.
Each society detailed in this chapter lists specific
awards that are available only to members, along with
any minimum Fame score and Prestige Point cost the
awards require. The sidebar on page 25 also lists several
generic awards that a member of any secret society can
purchase with her Prestige Points.
S�ill Specializatioo Many of the prestige awards and forms of recognition
that secret society members purchase allow a character
to become specialized in a skill. When a PC becomes
specialized in a skill, that skill immediately becomes a
class skill for him. If the member gains that skill as a class
skill from any other source (before or after purchasing
the prestige resource), he gains a +i competence bonus
on those skill checks.
Leaviog a Secret Society A character can leave a secret society at any time by
simply alerting her superiors, though abandoning
some organizations might come at a price. If a member
fails to pay the requisite offerings when they are due,
performs some act that j eopardizes the secret society's
anonymity, or otherwise violates the society's rules or
tenets (based on the GM's interpretation of the act),
she is excommunicated from the society and her Fame
score and Prestige Points are both reduced by 2d6 (to
a minimum of o). A member who fails a number of
consecutive Obeisance checks as set by her secret society
is also excommunicated.
Once a member leaves a secret society, she can no
longer spend Prestige Points on that society's benefits.
If she is excommunicated, she might even lose access
to some of the advantages and boons she had already
acquired from the society, at the GM's discretion. A
member can return to a secret society she left voluntarily
by paying the initiation fee again. A member who was
excommunicated must pay the initiation fee again and
succeed at a Diplomacy check (DC = 20 + the member's
current Fame score) to get back into the society. This
Diplomacy check can be attempted once per year.
Al)ap)Jexia originators and spiriting their discoveries back to the
Those who travel the narrow paths of the New Surdina
Road through the Hungry Mountains might catch a
glimpse of lights high upon Mount Laophis. The very
perceptive might even notice a vague outline of spires and
sharp roofs, seemingly as weathered and ancient as the
mountains that enclose them. Most hurry past the lonely
compound, but those who ask about it at the nearby Slit
o' the Sun inn or who question travelers along the trail
about it receive the same answer, a name and a warning:
"The Monastery of the Veil, where they live for death."
According to the records of Cryptgate Cathedral in
Kavapesta, the Monastery of the Veil was founded as
a Pharasmin hermitage in 3882 AR, built by a splinter
group of the faith whose members sought to better
prepare themselves for death and protect the greatest
works of their faith by isolating themselves from the
concerns of everyday life. All other records relating to
the monastery, its clergy, the donations it collected,
and other holdings are inexplicably missing, and any
public information about the monastery comes directly
from the only member of the brotherhood permitted
to leave the sanctuary's walls: Bishop Yasmardin Senir,
who also holds the title Count ofUlcazar. Senir portrays
his brotherhood as religious anchorites, utterly devoted
to Pharasma and fiercely protective of their isolation.
However, only the latter is actually true.
In 4144, the monks of the Monastery of the Veil were
exterminated. When the sons of Countess Robeskea
were stricken by the plague known as the Whithers
which haunted the shores of Lake Kavapesta, its curse
of lethal somnambulism reaching even the slopes of
Ulcazar-the desperate mother called upon the priests of
the Monastery of the Veil for aid. She received no reply.
When she sent her guards with an official decree, the
monastery refused her messengers entry. When finally
she traveled with her unconscious sons to the monastery
itself, the bishop denied her, repeating his order's mantra,
"We live only for death." The countess's sons died on the
monastery threshold soon after.
What followed is a mystery of blood and shadow:
Countess Robeskea courted the cult of Norgorber and
set them upon the monastery in vengeance for her dead
children. The Pharasmins fell and the worshipers of the
god of secrets claimed their library of mysteries. But the
assassins did not depart. In the catacomb-libraries of the
Monastery of the Veil, their leader found something the
Pharasmins had kept secret for centuries. He emerged
with a new charge and a single word: "Anaphexis."
To the outside world, the Monastery of the Veil
appears to continue as it always has, hosting a secretive
order of mysterious monks. But for half a millennium,
Norgorber's followers-now known as the Anaphexia
have held this redoubt amid the Hungry Mountains.
They claim new knowledge before it spreads, killing the
18
vast catacomb-libraries hidden beneath the Monastery of
the Veil. When they take a life, agents of the Anaphexia
remove the corpse's head, preventing others from using
magic to compel it to reveal its killer, and allowing the cult
members to conduct their own magical interrogations.
Beneath the Monastery of the Veil, layers of catacombs
bore into the mountain depths, lined with the skulls of
countless unrecognized geniuses and nameless prodigies
who tell their secrets only to the Anaphexia.
Secrecy is of paramount importance to the Anaphexia.
Any members of the cult who leave the Monastery of the
Veil for any reason leave behind their tongues, ensuring
that if captured while doing their god's shadowy work,
they will not easily give up their secrets. Members' tongues
are severed at the roots-an act that deals id2 points of
damage and leaves the individual unable to speak (even
to cast spells). Upon their return to the monastery, their
tongues are restored by the regenerative magic of high
ranking cult members. Only the leader of the cult, Bishop
Yasmardin Senir, is permitted to leave the monastery with
his tongue intact.
In this manner, the Anaphexia has operated for
centuries, collecting secrets not just to indulge use its
god's divine obsession, but also to continue the work
of the monastery's Pharasmin founders, preserving this
wisdom in trust for some mysterious age or event yet to
come, and for which the modern world is not prepared.
ANAPHEXIA
The Norgorberite assassins of the Anophexio pose as ascetic
monks of Phorosmo, and travel the world killing and stealing
to amass a wealth of secrets known only to themselves.
Location Monastery of the Ve i l i n U l caza r (Usta lav)
REQUIREMENTS
I n it iat ion Fee knowledge of the Anaphex ia a nd an offe r i ng
of a va l u ab l e non -persona l secret the assass i n s do no t
a l ready possess .
I n it iat ion Test Knowl edge (a ny) o r Stea l th DC 20
Offerings 300 g p/serv ice pe r i od
MEMBERSHIP
Obeisance Check Acrobat i cs, B l u ff, I n t im idate, Knowledge
(a ny), Percept ion, Stea l th
Service Period 6 months
Excommunication 2 consecut ive fa i l ed O be i sance checks
(assass inat ion at the Anaphex ia 's hands)
TASKS
Espionage (+1 Fame) Su ccessfu l l y l e a r n i ng a sec ret of
na t iona l , sc ient i fi c, o r esoter ic i m por tance that has not
yet been recorded wi th i n t he Monastery of t he Ve i l 's
records a nd a dd i n g it to the Anaphex ia 's repos i to r ies
i n creases your Fa me score by 1 . You can i n crease your
Fa me score th rough t h i s task th ree t imes pe r se rv i ce
pe r i od . (What counts as a va l u a b l e o r new secret i s
dete rm i ned by the GM .)
Sequester (+2 Fame) You erase a l l knowledge of a part i c u l a r
secret t h rough assass inat ion and the destruct ion o f
documents, ensu r i ng tha t on ly the Anaphexia reta ins that
informat ion . You must return the sku l l s of those you k i l l
to the Monastery of the Vei l . Comp let ing a sequester ing
i n creases you r Fame score by 2 . You can i ncrease you r
Fame score v i a t h i s method once p e r service per iod . I f
supposed ly suppressed informat ion emerges later, evi nc ing
a botched effort, your Fame score decreases by 4 .
AWARDS
Blessing of the Tongue (1 0 Fame) You can cast spe l l s
f r om the c le r i c a nd i n q u i s i tor spe l l l i sts that have a verba l
component even when your tongue has been removed.
Deepest Secret (75 Fame) You a re comm itted to keep i ng
t he Anaphex i a a sec ret f r om the wo r l d . You immed ia te ly
know the name of any creature w i th i n 1 m i le who
speaks t he words "Anaphex ia" o r "Anaphex i s ." A
creature spea k i ng u nde r t he effects of nonde tectian o r
any o the r s p e l l t h a t s tymies c l a i r a ud ience p revents t h i s
a b i l i ty f rom func t i o n i n g .
Fata l istic Faith (1 0 Fame, 5 PP) E a c h t i m e y o u ga i n a l eve l
i n the assass in c lass that g ra nts you a bonus on sav ing
th rows aga i nst po ison , you can exchange that c lass
featu re for a n i n crease i n your spe l l s pe r day and
effect ive caster leve l as i f you had ga i ned a c le r i c
leve l . You can choose th i s opt ion on l y i f you had
c l e r i c l eve l s before becom i ng an assass i n . You do
no t g a i n any o t he r c l e r i c c l a s s benef its .
Sacred Confidant (50 Fame) You are a vete ran
member of the Anaphex i a . You no longer have to
pay offe r i ngs to the cu lt, a nd every t ime you wou l d
no rma l l y pay offe r i ngs, you i n stead ea r n t h a t amount o f
go l d i n c red i t . Whenever you l eave the c lo ister, you c an
exchange cred i t f o r go l d, but a ny u nspent wea l th o r r i ches
ga ined m ust be donated to the cu l t upon you r retu rn (you
do not earn c red i t for this amou nt). Add i t iona l l y, you take
no damage from cut t ing ou t your own tongue .
Scho lar of Secrets (20 Fame, 1 PP) You a re g ra nted access
to the uppe r leve l s of the Monastery of the Ve i l 's l i b ra ry
catacombs . You can spend 1 PP and conduct 1 day of
research the re to ga i n a +1 0 c i r cumsta nce bonus on a
Knowl edge check .
Scholar of Skul ls (30 Fame, 2 PP) You a re g ra nted
permiss ion to i nterv iew any of the sku l l s held with i n
the Monastery of the Vei l 's l i b ra ry-catacombs and a re
supp l i ed wi th an attendant capab le of cast ing speak
with dead i f such ass is tance i s req u i red . You can spend
3 PP and conduct 1 hou r of research there to ga i n a +20
c i rcumstance bonus on a Knowledge check .
Si lent Speech (5 Fame) You lea rn the secret speech of the
Anaphexia , a l anguage of postu res, gestu res, and g l a res
known on l y to mem bers of the cu l t . You can com m u n icate
i n abso l ute s i l ence with other mem bers of the Anaphex ia
as long as you can see each other c lea r ly and the other
Anaphex ia members a l so know th i s l anguage .
19
"CCVLT MYSTERIES
Using the Anaphexia The Anaphexia holds no allegiance to any nation or
group, and so might arise to confront agents of any •
knowledge seeker.
Secrets to Tempt: The Anaphexia is always watching
scholarly communities, government bodies, ambitious
mercantile ventures, and similar far-reaching groups for
whispers of unusual new ideas, research, and explorations.
Its agents monitor such groups' actions closely, extorting
informants for news on provocative developments. Some
of the most noteworthy sites they're currently monitoring
include archaeological sites connected to the Whispering
Tyrant, Technic League laboratories in Numeria, Oppara's
Kitharodian Academy, the Sincomakti School of Sciences
in Versex, the House of Liars in Nidal, and various
Pathfinder lodges. They also keep regular tabs on several
secretive groups operating around Lake Encarthan,
such as the Aspis Consortium, the Esoteric Order of the
Palatine Eye, the Old Cults, the Royal Accusers of
Ustalav, the Sleepless Agency, and the
Whispering Way.
Cciofereoce Z efforts and discoveries. Each venture keeps its own staff
Issued in 4652 AR, Aspis Consortium Inter-Branch
Directive 1111 reads as follows: "Research department
heads, electrum agents: Aspis Building, Ostenso. Dawn,
8-24. Conference Z."
Inter-Branch Directive 1111 remains the only publicly
leaked reference to Conference Z. This directive was
compromised only when a group of Pathfinder Society
members ambushed an Aspis Consortium messenger
en route to an undisclosed location in Molthune. Since
then, few verifiable details have been uncovered regarding
Conference Z and its agents, operations, or purpose.
However, Pathfinder Society field reports have linked the
group to the brutal interrogation of an Isgeri necromancer,
an inexplicable encounter with Aspis agents amid the
Crown of the World's Lustral Spires, and the discovery of
a caravel wrecked in the Thuvian desert, miles from water.
Only Professor Tantis Mais, the current executor of
Conference Z, has full knowledge oflnter-Branch Directive
1111. In this centuries-old directive, Jhandorage Alexayn,
one of the Aspis Consortium's three founders, ordered the
organization's most brilliant minds to discuss radical new
avenues for business and expansion. Supposedly, Alexayn
judged the conference such a success that he secretly
dedicated a percentage of the consortium's yearly funds to
backing the think tank, a practice that has continued.
From its inception, Conference Z has been clandestine,
intended to free participants from the shackles of
convention and taboo. Over the decades, its mystery has
only deepened as a march of obsessive executors have
burrowed the suborganization into the depths of the
Consortium. Currently, only one of the Consortium's
executives, A. X. Adris, knows of Conference Z's existence,
and in return, she keeps the work of Professor Tantis Mais
and his far-flung electrum agents a closely guarded secret.
From laboratories hidden in a secret series of
subbasements beneath the Aspis Building in Ostenso,
Professor Mais conducts his own top-level research while
monitoring Conference Z operations across Golarion.
Although he has been executor for over 40 years, even he
is unaware ofthe objectives of some operations that began
before his tenure. While the full scope of Conference Z
remains a mystery, over the past decade, a small number
of Pathfinder agents and unwitting adventurers have
stumbled across stronghold laboratories researching
bizarre topics such as alien languages, biological hypnosis,
elder sciences, enhanced cryptozoology, geothermic
industry, immortality, interplanar economics, mass
teleportation, psychic enrichment, revivified prophecy,
and temporal redundancy. Yet other investigations have
been officially suspended over the years; curiously, these
suspended programs receive only slightly less funding
than active projects.
Scholars funded by Conference Z make regular reports
to Ostenso, keeping Professor Mais apprised of their
20
and security; most assistants and guards are unaware
that the Aspis Consortium funds their work and never
hear the name Conference Z. Every electrum agent does,
however, possess documents necessary to appropriate
Consortium agents and supplies in an emergency.
Perhaps the most sinister aspect of the shadow
organization is the cabal of nearly identical, black-clad
agents who report directly to Mais, silently carrying out
his orders, monitoring underperforming ventures, and
hunting those who learn too much about Conference Z.
As only a handful of individuals know of the existence
of Conference Z, and even fewer are actual members, the
following details a group ofinvestigators who unwittingly
serve Conference Z.
Bureau of Criers: The Criers investigate reports of
bizarre phenomena, unexplained events, and supposed
impossibilities, documenting their occurrence and
confiscating evidence for scholarly consideration and the
public good. Originally named the "Bureau oflnquirers,"
decades of malapropism eventually altered the name of
these privately funded investigators. Public records and
internal files report that the organization is funded by a
philanthropic brotherhood of international scholars
perhaps even the Esoteric Order of the Palatine Eye. Only
Chief Crier Byron Lanter knows that the group works for
the Aspis Consortium and that all of their discoveries
are sent to Mais's agents. Criers-whether individually,
in small teams, or with groups of reliable freelancers
collect accounts of strange events, investigate their causes,
and provide detailed reports to the Bureau of Criers in
Ostenso or to their field office in Thrushmoor (little more
than a basement desk in the Sleepless Building).
BUREAU OF CR IERS
These mercenary investigators seek out strange and paranormal
activity to report ta their mysterious, anonymous superiors.
Location Ostenso (Che l i ax) a nd Th rushmoor (Usta l av)
REQUIREMENTS
I n it iat ion Fee must have had an encou nter wi th a crea tu re
or phenomenon that def ies rat i ona l exp lanat ion
I n it iat ion Exam Knowl edge (a ny) o r Percept ion DC 20
Offerings 200 g p/serv i ce pe r i od
MEMBERSHIP
Obeisance Check B l u ff, I n t im idate, Percept ion, Stea l th
Service Period 3 months
Excommunication 3 consecut ive fa i l ed O be isa nce checks
TASKS
Fund Research (+1 Fame) Once per serv ice per iod , you can
sponsor a fe l l ow C r ie r's ongo ing i nvest iga t ions by payi ng
he r offe r i ng for that se rv i ce per iod (200 g p) . You can
sponsor a peer o n ly once pe r year, a nd even then on l y i f
you r Fame score exceeds 20 .
I nvest igate an Event (+2 Fame) Once per serv ice per iod ,
you can unde rtake a miss ion for you r supe r i o rs . You ga i n
fame on l y if you successf u l l y revea l the reason beh i nd
some unexp l a i ned event .
Take Evidence (+1 Fame) Once pe r serv ice per iod, you can
conf iscate a u n i q ue i tem re levant to your i nvest igat ions
a nd submi t i t to you r supe r i o rs for fu r the r research and
documentat i on . The i tem m ust be un ique and worth
1 ,000 g p per po in t of Fame you possess . The va l u e of such
a n i tem of ten comes from i ts ra r i ty o r unusua l natu re, not
f rom i ts mag i ca l p roper t ies o r component mate r i a l s .
AWARDS
Academica l ly Prepared (5 PP) You've spent a day reviewi ng
reports of events s im i l a r to one you're about to i nvest igate.
Choose a Knowledge ski l l . You gain a +2 c i rcumstance
bonus on that ski l l and a +2 c i rcumstance bonus on W i l l
savi ng th rows to resist fea r effects f o r the d u rat ion of one
miss ion (maximum du rat ion of 1 week) . Memory Purge (50 Fame, 1 0 PP) You can request a team of
Cr ie r mag i c-users to wipe the memory of a 24-hou r per iod
from an i nd iv i dua l . You must know where the target is ,
and she must e i ther be w i l l i ng to undergo the wipe o r be
unprepa red for i t . The person you wish to af fect must be of
a cha racter level equa l to o r less than you rs . The 24-hou r
pe r i od does no t need to be the l a s t 24 hou rs, and Cr ie r
mag i c- users typica l l y fu l fi l l the i r work wi th in 3 days of the
request be ing made . Wh i le some targets m ight escape
Cr ie r agents, the bu reau's success rate is q u ite good . You
can choose yourse l f as the target of a memory pu rge .
Restricted Access (20 Fame, 2 PP) You can request add i t iona l
i n fo rmat ion re lat ing to your i nvest igat ion f rom you r
super io rs . Wh i l e y o u can't request spec i f ic mater i a l s, what
you rece ive p roves usefu l to you r work. Support typica l l y
takes the fo rm of some r a re book o r esoter ic
manuscr ipt that, when referenced, g ra nts a +2
c i rcumstance bonus on a l l Knowledge checks
related to your i nvestigat ion . Occas iona l ly, though,
th i s m ight be an unusua l mag i c item with a va l u e less
than 1 ,000 g p x you r cu rrent Fame o r a strange ly spec i f ic
mundane item . Any mater ia l s g ra nted to you a re de l ivered
anonymous ly with i n 1 week of the request, and you a re
expected to retu rn them at the end of your miss ion o r
with i n 1 month (whi chever i s shorter) . Fa i l u re to
return items decreases your Fame score by 5.
Using Conference Z Conference Z is a perfect international
conspiracy to either oppose PCs or fund
their exploits (via the Criers), potentially even
hiring them in order to point them away from larger
Conference Z endeavors. Cells funded by Conference
Z engage in all manner of bizarre studies, resulting in
everything from amoral experiments and monster-gone
wild plots to near-apocalypses. A few of Conference Z's
known initiatives include the following.
Extraplanar Travel: The non-humanoid Professor Ro
charts planar connections across Golarion. During certain
"CCVLT MYSTERIES
planar conjunctions, his cavernous compound on the coast
ofMolthune connects with tunnels beneath Axis.
Extraplanetary Studies: From his observatory in Manaket, •
Professor Calacazari seeks methods to study, contact, and
travel between the worlds in Golarion's solar system. He
believes he's recently made contact with a scholar on Verces.
Necrotic Enrichment: Professor Galuzo's agents are
among the only living creatures allowed near Finder's Gulch
in Isger, and study the union of disease and necromancy.
Supernatural Meteorology: The floating laboratory
of Professor Omor monitors the magical storms off the
coast of the Spellscar Desert.
Temporal Anomalies: From an abandoned cliff
dwelling in the Calphiak Mountains, Professor Ilosiel
studies irregularities in the flow of time.
Translocation, Radical: Professor Nuis studies methods
of linking or overlaying disparate locations. Her lab
fortress, Castle Penatha, is currently missing. 1
CIJurcIJ of Razmir others. Those who seek to rise in the church must do so
Many offer prayers to distant and uncaring gods, yet why
bother with a god who might not even know you exist?
For a few bold iconoclasts, the true path to power involves
offering up prayers to the Living God, Razmir-a being
who takes a direct and personal interest in the world's
affairs. From his seat in Thronestep, in the country that
bears his name, Razmir rules over his nation and his
faith, guiding them to power and prosperity.
The faith is organized around various ecclesiastical
ranks called "steps," with the idea that ascending
through these levels of faith leads the aspirant closer to
Razmir and his divinity. New converts find
themselves sent to First Step, a fortress in
Razmiran's Exalted Wood. While some
never return from this great black edifice,
those who do find themselves forever
changed as they emerge and are issued
a simple iron mask and plain white
robe. These acolytes are absolutely
faithful to the church, willing to
do almost anything to further
its goals. As a member ascends
in the church hierarchy, she
is awarded new masks and
robes according to her
station, as well as other
privileges, such as access
to bountiful riches, loyal
servants, and willing concubines
and gigolos. Razmir promises
unquestioned power and worldly
pleasures. The only cost is absolute
loyalty and obedience.
In truth, while Razmir does
indeed reward quality service,
he does not share his
divine power, nor does
he respect those
who rely on
22
using their own cunning and ability, filling the upper
echelons of the faith with some of the most ruthless and
power-hungry individuals in all of Golarion.
The Church of Razmir is a relative newcomer to
Golarion. Founded only 47 years ago, the church is
constantly looking for ways to expand. Although
currently limited in influence to the lands around
Lake Encarthan, where its faith barges constantly sail
to spread the gospel, the church sends missionaries far
and wide to spread the word. If a community seems
at all receptive, the church sets up a shrine, allowing
missionaries to manipulate local politics and expand
their influence. Although they often start by gifting
food, drink, and even gold to the locals in a display of
Razmir's prosperity and beneficence, these gifts quickly
turn into loans and coercion. Of course, ifthe residents
accept Razmir and donate regularly to the church,
such pressure is unnecessary. Their strong-arm tactics
make disciples of Razmiran generally unpopular with
members of other religions, who see them as little
more than a well-organized gang seeking to expand
their protection racket-yet as some Razmiri priests
point out, the same could be said of most religions,
and at least the Church of Razmir follows through on
its promises and takes a direct interest in the worldly
success of its faithful.
CHURCH OF RAZMIR
Those who seek true power devote their lives t o the Living
God, Rozmir. His faith is one of prosperity and power and those
who worship him can share in his bounty.
Location Th ronestep (Razmi ran)
REQUIREMENTS
I n it iat ion Fee Va r ies (poor aco lytes get in for free, wh i l e
those w i t h wea l th m ight be expected t o pay u p t o 500 g p)
I n it iat ion Test Those who jo i n the c h u rch must travel
to the fortress of F i rst Step to be tra i ned . Once the re,
the a co lytes a re s ubject to va r ious powerfu l s pe l l s a nd
a l c hem i c a l concoct ions fash ioned t o e r ode the i r w i l l a nd
make them easy t o educate. Those who fi gh t aga i nst
these methods a re locked away deep beneath the keep
and a re never hea rd from aga i n .
Offerings 1 O g p/serv ice per iod
MEMBERSHIP
Obeisance Check B l u ff, D i p l omacy, I n t im idate, Use
Mag i c Dev ice
Service Period 1 month
Excommunication 3 consecut ive fa i l ed Obe i sance
checks (execut ion)
ACTIVITY
Conversion (+1 Fame) Once pe r month, you can convert
the owner of a loca l bus i ness, a government offi c i a l , or
a noble wi th a successfu l D i p lomacy o r I n t im idate check
(DC equa l to 1 O + you r Fa me) to i n c rease you r Fa me by 1 .
The DC i n creases because you m ust cont i nuous l y convert
i n creas i ng l y res i s tant l o ca l s to imp ress the p r i ests .
AWARDS
Ascendant (10 PP) You advance to become an aco lyte of
the second step. You r can add a g ray sash to you r robes,
i nd i cat ing your i n creased stand i ng . Once per month, you
can ca l l upon the aid of two aco lytes of the f i rst step, who
fo l l ow you r o rde rs w i thout q uest ion (u n l ess the orders
a re su i c i da l o r obvious ly aga ins t the tenets of the fa i th) .
Treat these aco lytes as 1 st- l eve l war r io rs . The aco lytes
serve you for 1 day o r on one task, wh i chever i s of sho rter
d u ra t i on . You can a lso bo rrow up to 100 g p of nonmag i ca l
gea r f r om the c h u rch to out fi t t hese aco lytes, but you
m ust rep l a ce a nyth i ng that i s lost o r destroyed .
Domain (5 Fame, 20 PP) You a re g iven contro l of a n a rea
i n a c i ty that the c h u rch contro l s . Wh i l e you do not d i ctate
bus i ness pract ices o r day-to-day ope rat io ns, you a re
treated deferent i a l l y at a l l bus i nesses in that a rea (usua l l y
abou t five, offe r i ng va r ious d i fferent good s a nd serv ices).
I f the bus i nesses open ly su ppo rt the faith, treat NPCs at
these bus i nesses as i f the i r a t t i tude toward you were one
step better than i t wou l d be toward others . Bus i nesses
that secret ly oppose the c h u rch m i g ht seek to unde rm ine
you , s ubject to the GM's d i sc ret i on . I n add i t ion, on ce
per month you can request a cont r i bu t ion from these
bus i nesses . Wh i l e you must donate much of th i s money to
the c h u rch a s par t of your month ly offe r i ng , you receive
1 d 6 x 10 g p as a st i pend for ga the r i ng th is wea l th . I f
these bus i nesses o f fe r serv ices o r nonmag i ca l g oods, you
receive a 200/o d iscount on these goods and serv ices .
Int im idating Student (5 PP) You have earned a reputat ion
for be i ng fi e rce and demand i ng , caus ing those you
encou nter to g i ve i n to your wishes more read i l y than
they would to others . You ga in a +2 bonus on B l uf f a nd
I n t im i date checks . I n add i t ion , when you successf u l l y u s e
I n t im idate t o demora l ize a foe, t h a t f oe is shaken f o r 1 d 4
add i t i ona l rounds .
Using the Church of Razmir Whenever the Church of Razmir appears in a town,
there is bound to be conflict with the local government,
businesses, and other religions. The following adventure
hooks are suitable for those dealing with the church, as
well as those seeking to become members.
Business Opportunities: The church has decided to
expand its influence over local businesses. Their plan
involves having a number of acolytes commit petty crimes
against targeted businesses, such as burglary, vandalism,
and assault (while not wearing their robes, of course).
As the pressure on local businesses mounts, the church
offers to help stop the crime spree in exchange for a small
donation. Over time, this evolves into a relationship in
which the businesses pay to protect their properties from
the rampant crime. Non-Razmiri characters are called
in by a local trade guild that does not want to deal with
23
"CCVLT MYSTERIES
About Service Periods
Every secret society functions on what a re known as "service
periods." You can attempt one Obeisance check (us ing a ski l l
chosen from your society's Obeisance check options) per
service per iod. A service per iod's actua l in-game du rat ion
va ries from society to society, and you shou ldn't hesitate to
further adjust a society's service per iod length to match the
speed at which t ime passes i n your campaign . As a genera l
ru le, a member should be able to increase her Fame score
by 4 to 6 poi nts per character level, so depending on how
long characters i n your game take to gain levels, you shou ld
adjust the length of a service per iod accord ing ly, tak ing i nto
account any extra tasks that earn the student Fame over the
course of the term. One re lat ive ly s imp le way to hand-wave
service per iods is to treat each game session, no matter
how much t ime passes dur ing that session, as one service
period, and a l low characters i n schools to attempt a Tra in ing
check at the end of each game sess ion . You can a l so t ie
these checks to character level, and a l low characters to
attempt five Obeisance checks a l l at once every t ime they
level up.
the church, while prospective acolytes are tasked with
convincing the businesses to pay up.
Faith Barge: Traveling around the shores of Lake
Encarthan and up and down the nearby rivers, these
barges bear missionaries bringing the word of Razmir
to the ignorant masses. When they dock in a town, the
missionaries' first job is to impress the locals with the
wealth and power of Razmir, which is often done by
throwing a raucous party at which they hand out free
food, drink, and even money. During the festivities, the
missionaries talk to the local business owners, hoping to
find one who might be susceptible to their message. If
successful, they leave a member or two behind to found a
new shrine to the Living God. Not surprisingly, such visits
end up causing chaos in town as the local leaders attempt
to maintain control over the town after the visit. Local
defenders are often called upon to look into these visitors,
while neophyte priests are often sent on such journeys to
spread the word ofRazmir and earn money for the church.
Local Respect: The other faiths in town treat the
church ofRazmir like a petulant upstart, and for the most
part, the local townsfolk agree. The church has decided
to start a campaign to improve its standing among the
locals while simultaneously discrediting the clergy of
other faiths. They throw lavish parties for locals, inviting
them to enjoy free food and drink, while quietly running
a smear campaign against priests of other churches,
revealing scandalous secrets (some of which are likely
lies). Non-Razmiri characters are asked to investigate the
source of the recent rumors, while Razmiri characters are
tasked with spreading them even further.
Esoteric Order of tl)e Palatioe Eye The Esoteric Order of the Palatine Eye is perhaps
Golarion's most public secret society. Based in fog
shrouded Ustalav, this shadowy organization follows
strange dictates from the so-called Lost Gospels of Tabris,
an ancient text recovered from the Osirian desert by
the Order's founder. It purports to reveal the mythical
ascendancy of powerful primordial entities, and serves as
the allegorical foundation for the society's strange beliefs.
The Order is organized by "cathedrals": localized, semi
autonomous chapters that gather in mausoleums, noble
estates, or actual retrofitted cathedrals. Membership
is expensive and exclusive, and while not limited to
the nobility, it is beyond most commoners' reach.
The Order is organized into nine "stations"
divided evenly among three "thrones." The
Third Throne consists of the general rank
and-file membership of adherents, while the
Second and First Thrones are reserved for elder
members, powerful nobles, or those who have
fully ascended through the Order's ranks
of enlightenment.
New members must be invited
and vouched for by members in
good standing. The order's strange
ceremonies of initiation are
structured as call-and-response
chants, and intoned in a bizarre
pidgin of Ancient Osiriani. The
rites also involve outlandish
symbolism and actions, such
as breaking the jaw off of the
mummified corpse of a deceased
member. Membership brings the
exclusivity of a powerful social
club, the assured support of fellow
members, and connections with
influential noble houses.
The Order's theology, as outlined
by the Lost Gospels of Tabris, is an
ordered path of enlightenment
designed to cultivate the divine
spark that members believe all
sentient beings harbor. As a member
ascends through the Order's stations,
she is expected to achieve greater states of
self-awareness and personal insight. The
gospels teach through symbolic fables of
primordial creation and the cultivation of
order from chaos, as well as allegorical tales
of the ascendancy of deific beings from
primordial forms to godhood.
These strange teachings and
secret rites, along with the powerful
influence of the order's members,
spark innumerable conspiracy theories and accusations
that the fraternal society is at best a deceptive pyramid
scheme, or at worst, a diabolical cult. The Order's
hierarchy includes markers of divine stations both
celestial and diabolical, suggesting that the accusations
are not without merit, and the Order's refusal to
answer or even silence conspiracy theorists only drives
speculation further.
ESOTERIC ORDER OF THE PALAT INE EYE
This mysterious-and some say dangerous-secret society
promotes personal enlightenment and the cultivation of an
inner divine spark, all within the framework of an influential
and powerful fraternal organization.
Location Usta lav
REQUIREMENTS
I n it iat ion Fee 500 g p
I n it iat ion Test L i ngu ist i cs DC 20
Offerings 300 g p/serv ice pe r i od
MEMBERSHIP
Obeisance Check B l u ff, Knowledge
(a rcana), Knowledge (re l i g i o n),
L i n gu is t i cs
Service Per iod 4 months
Excommunication 3 consecut ive
fa i l e d Obe i sance checks
TASK
Recover Lost Knowledge (+1 Fame)
Lost know ledge re levant to the
Order's teach i ngs i s h i dden i n certa i n
a nc ient texts sp read ac ross Go l a r ion ,
a nd the i r recovery by any means i s o f
g reat im portance to the Order. Successfu l
comp let ion of a m iss ion t o recover such
documents i n c reases you r fame sco re by 1 .
AWARDS
F i rst Throne (50 Fame) You ascend to
the h i g hest leve l of the O rd er's ran ks,
a n d no l o nge r need to pay offe r i ngs .
Eve ry t ime you wou l d no rma l l y pay
offe r i ng s, you i nstead earn tha t
amoun t of go l d i n t r i bu te .
Recitat ions (20 Fame, 5 PP) The
menta l d i s c i p l i nes of the Esoter ic
Order a re i n st i l l e d i n mem bers th rough
med itat ive rec itat i ons-short p h rases i n the
Orde r's Anc ient Os i r i an i pa r l a nce that take on
tang ib le powers as the a d herent r i ses th rough
the ranks of the order. You can take th i s rewa rd
five t imes . Each t ime you take i t, se lec t one of
the fo l l ow ing rec i ta t ions to l ea rn . To use th i s
a b i l i ty, you m ust be a member i n good sta nd i n g
and i n possess ion of you r s c a r ab brooch wh i l e
utte r i ng the rec i tat ion as a standa rd a c t i o n . You
can d raw on the power of these rec itat ions in th i s
manne r a n umber of t imes pe r day equa l to the n umber
of rec ita t ions you know, bu t you can have on l y one
rec i tat i on act ive at any one t ime .
A b Sek, A b e t Sahu: Th i s ax iom of the order means
"Once m i ne, a lways you rs." By i nvok i ng th i s ph rase, you
can c a l l on you r i n f l uence to ga i n a +4 i n s i gh t bonus on
you r next D i p l omacy check wh i le the rec i tat i on i s a ct ive .
Het Aaru Muut: The saying "Favored i s b revity" teaches
that a d herents of the order l i ve m i n utes ahead of non
soc i ety mem bers . When you a ct ivate th i s rec i tat ion, you
ga in a +4 i n s i gh t bonus on you r next i n i t ia t ive check .
Khu Ba Heteph: Th is motto means "Seek and you sha l l
fi nd"; wh i l e the recitat ion i s act ive, you can rero l l one W i l l
saving th row as though you had t he Improved I ron W i l l feat.
Nib lmnet Hem Mao: Th i s rec itat i on means "Remember
what i s l ea rned"; wh i l e the rec i tat ion i s ac t ive, you ga i n a
+S c i rcumstance bonus on a s i n g l e Knowledge check .
Sek Ahmet Thul Khu: The ax iom "Secrets kept rema i n
m i ne" rem inds mem bers of t he i r vows of secrecy. You can
speak th i s rec i tat i on to ga i n a +4 c i rcumstance bonus on
you r nex t B l uf f check wh i l e the effect i s a ct ive.
Second Throne (20 Fame) You ascend f rom the T h i rd
Th rone of gene ra l e n l i s tees to t he second t i e r of
e n l i g h tenment, and you a re g i fted a sym bo l i c go l d en
s c a r ab . W h i l e you a re wea r i ng t he s ca ra b g i fted t o
you , t h i s sca rab a n i mates a n d c l am bers a c ross you r
torso t o i n te rcede a ga i nst u n expected at tacks, g ran t i n g
a +4 bonus to A rmo r C l a ss a g a i nst a l l s neak at tacks
and at tacks of oppo r t un ity. T he a m u l et t akes u p an
a m u l et s l ot . I f you lose th i s s ca rab, you can p u rchase a
re p l a cement fo r 5 PP.
Using the Esoteric Order The Esoteric Order of the Palatine Eye is an excellent
organization for PCs who want to explore strange rites,
fraternal camaraderie, and esoteric teachings under
the umbrella of a powerful and influential association.
However, these same qualities can just as easily make
the Order a devious foil to the PCs' pursuits. The facade
of an innocuous fraternity begins to crumble as one
ascends through the order's stations, and the society's
darker pursuits slowly come to the fore. A rising member's
assignment to recover some relic from the cathedral of a
religion to whom other party members are sympathetic
might provide dramatic conflict, as could orders to steal
a valuable scroll from a renowned archive of decidedly
benevolent service.
Caliphas Murders: In the ancient city of Caliphas, a
string of strange murders has recently ignited the public's
imagination. The scions of influential old noble families
have been found hanging beneath bridges, dressed in
ceremonial robes and bearing intricate symbols and
glyphs associated with the Order carved into their torsos.
Has the Palatine Eye turned murderous toward its own
members, or is someone more diabolical attempting to
25
"CCVLT MYSTERIES
Generic Awards Beyond the specif ic p rest ige awards that each secret
soc iety g rants, members can spend the i r Prest ige Points
on the fol lowing gener ic awards as we l l .
Offering Aid: You c a n spend 1 PP t o pay your offer ing
for a service per iod .
Research Aid: For 1 PP, you can ga in the a id of another
member. Th is g rants you a +4 c i rcumstance bonus on any
ski l l check , save for Obe isance checks.
Spell Transcription: For 1 PP per spe l l l evel, you can
have a spel l of your cho ice e i ther t ranscr ibed into your
spe l l book (for mag i and wiza rds) or taught to your fam i l i a r
(for witches) .
Spellcast ing : By spend ing the l i sted P rest i ge Po int
tota l , you can have the fo l l ow ing spe l l s cast for you (the
caster leve l i n each case i s the m i n imum poss i b l e for
the spe l l ) .
1 PP : Cure moderate wounds, dispel magic, lesser
restoration, make whole, remove blindness/deafness,
remove curse, remove disease, remove paralysis
2 PP: A tonement (8 PP to restore c ler i c/dru id powers),
break enchantment, cure serious wounds, greater
dispel magic, neutralize poison, restoration (4 PP to
remove permanent negat ive l evels)
3 PP: Heal, regenerate
1 6 PP: Greater restoration, raise dead
32 PP: Resurrection
77 PP: True resurrection
expose the secrets of the Order or use fear to gain power
over its members?
Courtaud Catacombs: Recently, a militia consisting
of Esoteric Order initiates has taken over the local
government of the small Ustalavic town of Courtaud
following the Order's discovery of a strange glowing
ember in the catacombs beneath a crumbling Pharasmin
temple there. The group has since locked itself away in
the cathedral and refuses to exit. How this relates to the
recent reappearance of the Devil in Gray is a mystery the
local authorities of the county seat ofLozeri aim to solve,
and they might call on PCs to do so.
Double- Cross: Characters need not be members of the
Esoteric Order to come into conflict with its ambitions.
The nobles of the First and Second Thrones will broker
no competition in their pursuit of ancient knowledge,
and might hire rival adventuring parties to rob weary
PCs of some strange relic or tome uncovered among
Ustalav's ruins. The Order often sponsors expeditions
into the Osirion desert to search for Tabris' sepulcher
or other lost tombs, and PCs might discover too late the
internal conflict within the Order when hired by one
cathedral to perform an exploration, only to be forced to
fight off members of another cathedral attempting the
same mission.
Harhin�ers of fate I n it iat ion Test B lu f f DC 20
Lord Garron, a faithful follower of Aroden and Chelish
nobleman who fell from favor after House Thrune
consolidated power in his homeland, founded the
Harbingers of Fate in 4648 AR. As a second-career
adventurer and mercenary, Garron discovered the Book
of i,ooo Whispers, a volume that he believed chronicled
prophecies regarding the years from 4604 AR to 4714 AR,
which included Aroden's dominion over the Inner Sea. The
prophecies from the first 2 years are absolutely accurate,
while the predictions following 4606 become increasingly
nonsensical. Garron believed the book's assertion that
Aroden's death was a cosmic accident, and convinced his
followers that if they could arrange for any ofthe prophecies
in the Book ef i,ooo Whispers to come true, Aroden would be
restored to life, destiny put back on track, and the Age of
Glory ushered in. Garron never saw this dream realized,
but his daughter, Lady Arodeth, continues his work.
A citizen of Absalom, Lady Arodeth plays the role of the
vapid inheritor of a band of mercenaries for hire called
the Band of Blades. In reality, however, she is a cunning
politician and strategist determined to see one of the
prophecies fulfilled. She has manipulated circumstances
in the lives of countless individuals for well over a decade
in a failed effort to make this happen, and as of 4714, only
i desperate, final year remains for the Harbingers to
correct the march of history.
The Band of Blades acts as a front for the Harbingers.
Though the group also accepts legitimate contracts, which
enhance their cover and finance their operations, Arodeth
uses dispatches agents disguised as mercenaries all across
the Inner Sea without drawing undue attention. The
Harbingers continually collect and collate information
on individuals and situations that conform to one of
the prophecies. This information is used to stage events
allowing a prophecy to come true. In this final year, the
group has intensified their efforts, and begun actively
forcing events to conform to their prophecies. Arodeth
used to stop short of doing intentional harm to the
Harbinger's pawns, but increasingly, she has started to
rationalize that no sin would be unforgivable ifit restored
her god to life.
HARBINGERS OF FATE
Headquartered in the city of Absolom, the Harbingers of Fote
use the mercenary company known as the Bond of Blades as
a front for their true agenda: arranging events so that one of
the prophecies in the Book of 1 ,000 Whispers might come true.
The Harbingers of Fote believe if just one of the prophecies
is fulfilled, destiny itself will be restarted and the Age of Lost
Omens will be replaced by the Age of Glory.
Location Absa l om
REQUIREMENTS
I n it iat ion Fee 200 g p, m ust have read the Book of 1,000
Whispers
26
Offerings 200 g p/serv ice pe r i od
MEMBERSHIP
Obeisance Check B l u ff, D i p l omacy, D i sgu ise, Knowl edge
(h i sto ry), Know ledge (re l i g i on), Stea l th
Service Period 4 months
Excommunication 3 consecut ive fa i l ed O be isa nce checks
TASKS
Brandish Blade (+1 Fame) Comp le t i ng an ass ig nment unde r
the g u i se of the Band of B l ades keeps the Ha rb i nge rs we l l
fi na nced and we l l connected th roughout t h e I n ne r Sea .
The comp le t ion of a n ass i g nment of a CR that equa l s o r
exceeds Oyou r l eve l i n c reases you r Fame score by 1 .
I nvest igate Omens (+1 Fame) The Ha rb i ngers don't re ly
so le ly on the Book of 1,000 Whispers; they rou t i ne ly
i nvest igate other sou rces of oracu l a r i n s i g ht, such as
peop le c l a im i ng to be ab le to pred ic t the futu re, p r i ests
and arcan ists capab l e of cast ing h i g h - l evel d iv ina t ion
spe l l s, a nd a l ternate books of p rophecy. Successf u l l y
ret r iev i ng a new sou rce of p red i c t ion i n c reases you r Fame
score by 1 .
AWARDS
Blessing of the Author (20 Fame, 3 PP) You can subm i t
you rse l f to a l oca l chapter house of the Ha rb i ngers
to receive a temporary mag i ca l boon-a cont i nuous
nondetection spe l l . Th i s effect l a sts for the d u rat ion
of one m i ss ion , o r a max imum d u rat ion of 1 week
(wh i chever i s sho rter.
Fatebreaker (1 PP) If you have a c lass a b i l i ty that requ i res
the target to succeed at a saving th row o r rero l l any
die and take a worse resu l t (fo r examp l e, the witch's
m i sfo r tune hex), the sav ing th row DC permanent ly
i n creases by 1 . You can pu rchase th i s award on l y once per
c lass a b i l i ty.
Forerunner (20 Fame) You a re g i ven the t i t l e of fore r unne r
a nd a persona l ized wh ite go l d r i n g . The eng rav ing ma rks
you as a member of the Band of B l ades, but i n s i de the
band a re eng raved the words "No dest iny but the Last ."
So long as you reta i n th is r i ng, you gain a n add i t i ona l +1
mora l e bonus on a l l sav ing th rows aga i nst effects that
wou ld force you to rero l l any die and take the worse
resu l t . You can also c a l l upon the network of the Band of
B l ades and ga i n an add i t i ona l +2 c i rcumstance bonus on
a l l Knowl edge checks and D i p l omacy checks to gather
i n fo rmat ion , p rovi ded you have contac t wi th other
members of the o rgan izat i on .
Herald (50 Fame) You a re g i ven the t i t l e of he ra l d a nd
no l onge r need t o p ay offe r i ngs . Anyt ime you wou l d
n o rma l l y p ay a n offe r i ng , y o u receive t h a t amoun t as a
persona l s t i pend .
Using the Harbingers of Fate The Harbingers of Fate needn't be villains, though they
increasingly resort to desperate means to achieve their
bizarre ends. In truth, the Harbingers are pawns of the
Author of the Book of i,ooo Whispers, and their actions
are those of zealots hoping to bring an end to what they
see as a century of wrong history that has subjugated
their world. As a result, the PCs might find themselves
opposed to the Harbingers should the secret society
set its misguided sights on the PCs or their allies, or
they might see the Harbingers' cause as a sympathetic
one. This latter is particularly true for worshipers of
Iomedae, whose church took responsibility for most
of Aroden's scattered flock after his death, and who are
more likely than most to see the return of the God of
Humanity as a noble cause.
Author's Identity: Seeing the Harbingers as tools of
a greater power, the PCs might set out to uncover the
identity and intentions of the Author of the Book of
i,ooo Whispers. Doing so might lead them on a number
of adventures based upon their own spurious and
far-reaching interpretations of the book's text, and
invariably includes a number of dead ends. The PCs'
search for the Author's identity could even be one of
the Author's own plans, making the PCs cogs in the
Author's complex agenda, even as they attempt to free
the Harbingers of Fate from their mysterious master's
subtle manipulations.
Mantis Masters: The Harbingers aren't above hiring
the Red Mantis when the prophecies seem to indicate
the death of a particular public figure, as the text makes
several references to helpful but deadly insects. PCs
investigating a Red Mantis assassination might find
a Harbinger at the other end.
Mothman Interrogation: The inhabitants of a small
town in the backwoods of Andoran are beset by strange
weather, nightmares, and inexplicable periods of lost
time. The Harbingers have secretly captured a mothman
and hold it prisoner. The group has demanded that the
mothman reveal the purpose for its race's heightened
activity just prior to 4606 AR, which abruptly ceased
after Aroden died. The entity has remained silent and
intractable, and its goals in Andoran, good or bad,
remain unmet. The Harbingers plan to crucify the
creature if it will not speak, and meanwhile the radius
and intensity of the strange phenomena that surround
the town grow larger and more cataclysmic by the hour.
If the PCs do not thwart this stalemate, something
terrible will happen.
New Blades: The PCs are inducted into the Band
of Blades as probationary members. This provides a
means of introducing low-level PCs to the Harbingers
gradually, and potentially letting them undertake
adventures and missions for profit and experience.
Offerings are not required until the PCs are formally
initiated into the Harbingers. Once they learn enough
about the organization to question its agenda, they must
decide whether to continue to support the Harbingers
fully, or to put a stop to the group from within.
27
"CCVLT MYSTERIES
Sodden Secrets: While the Harbingers range all
across the Inner Sea in pursuit of their prophecies,
they're often drawn to areas specifically linked to •
Aroden's death. While agents in the Worldwound tend
to have a difficult time because of inquisitions among
the crusaders (and the occasional disembowelment by a
demon), the scattered settlements of the Sodden Lands
provide a perfect location for some of the organization's
more public and potentially objectionable experiments.
PCs traveling in the region might stumble across whole
towns twisted by magic or slain in bizarre ways, or
more benignly-harbingers attempting to use powerful
magic or artifacts to reclaim portions of the land from
the fury of the storm.
KoigJ,ts of tJ,e fouo Star At the height of Imperial Azlant, a shining order of
armored magi known as the Knights of the Ioun Star
served as the personal guardians of the emperor and the
empire's Throne of Glass. For centuries these able warriors
provided the ultimate bulwark against assassination
and intrigue, bringing a much-needed stability to
the tumultuous early human kingdom. Because the
knights served the office of the emperor rather than the
empire itself, their political motivations and alliances
shifted over the centuries, causing the scant remaining
documentation on the order to paint the knights in very
different shades, from glorious heroes and arcane adepts
to the bullying minions of despotic tyrants.
Chapters of the Knights of the Ioun Star were known
as almorains, an Azlanti term akin to "family" or "alliance."
All almorains pledged their loyalty to one of two sects
within the larger order: the Knights of the Western Star,
who served the emperor directly in business and intrigue
within the empire, and the Knights of the Eastern Star,
who searched the lands beyond the empire's borders
for secret lore. As the Empire of Azlant began its long
slide into decline, the knights began to despise the
corrupt leaders they were sworn to protect. The Eastern
Star Knights began scouring the globe for a prophesied
ruler called the Last Azlanti, who they believed would
wrest the Throne of Glass from pretenders and lead the
Azlanti people into a new future.
A few fortunate Knights of the Western Star survived
the devastation of Earthfall and eventually came to serve
the living god Aroden, whom they believed to be an
embodiment of the Last Azlanti prophecy. Records of the
knights accompanying Aroden in the early years of the city
of Absalom abound, and armored Knights ofthe Ioun Star
stood alongside the human cultural hero in his struggles
against the Whispering Tyrant, his defense of Absalom,
and other adventures from the Age of Destiny through
the Age of Enthronement. When Aroden died just over a
century ago, the Knights of the Western Star faded from
history. Meanwhile, the Knights of the Eastern Star have
remained scattered throughout Avistan and beyond since
Earthfall, ever searching for secret lore and the messianic
ruler who would restore the glory of Azlant-they never
believed Aroden was truly the Last Azlanti, and took his
death as confirmation of their suspicions.
The remaining knowledge of the Knights of the
Ioun Star is gleaned from scant surviving Azlanti texts
and millennia of apocryphal additions contributed by
latter-day converts to the order, many of whom invented
esoteric mythology to fill in history's gaps. Modern
Knights of the Ioun Star dabble in occult activities, trying
to cobble together a secret history of their order from
scattered Azlanti fragments. They sponsor expeditions
into the ruined continent of Azlant, gather secretly to
conduct rituals of dubious provenance, and await one
28
who can rebuild the empire of Azlant and claim the
Throne of Glass once again. Naturally, after dedicating
their lives to this search, some of the order's most ardent
members come to believe that they themselves are the
only ones worthy of this tremendous honor.
Most Knights of the Ioun Star come to the order on
their own after running across a mention of it in a long
forgotten tome. Eventually, research on ancient Azlanti
prophecies and conspiracies leads them to a web of
similarly minded enthusiasts, who introduce initiates to
a complex series of secret rituals and occult practices,
some completely made up and some with genuine ties
to potent Azlanti arcane traditions.
KNIGHTS OF THE IOUN STAR
Formed to protect the Emperor of Azlont in ancient days, the
Knights of the Joun Star exists today as on order that posses
down ancient Azlonti wisdom and magical traditions jumbled
together with later fabrications through a series of secret rituals
in hopes of reestablishing the lost empire in modern times.
Location any c i ty
REQU IREMENTS
I n it iat ion Fee none
I n it iat ion Test Knowledge (h i story) DC 20
Offerings 1 00 g p/serv ice per iod
MEMBERSHIP
Obeisance Check Knowledge (a rca na) o r Knowledge
(h isto ry), Spe l l craft
Service Period 3 months
Excommunication 4 consecut ive fa i l e d Obe i sance checks
TASKS
loun Harvest (+1 Fame per 1,000 gp) When you recove r
a nd retu rn any ioun stone to the Kn i ghts of the l o un Sta r's
leaders, you r Fame score inc reases by 1 po int per 1 ,000 gp
of the ioun stone's va l u e .
Lost Lore (+1 Fame) Once pe r semester, if you donate a
wr i t ten work of Az l a nt i a n t i q u i ty to t he Kn i gh t s of t he
l o u n S ta r, you r Fa me s co re i n c reases by 1 . The wr i t ten
work o r works that you donate m ust be worth at l eas t
1 ,000 g p pe r po i n t of Fa me you a l ready possess .
AWARDS
Certa inty of G reatness and Inevitabi l ity (15 Fame, 10 PP)
You have become conv inced that you a re the he ro the
Kn ig hts of the l o un Star have been seek ing , and that you
a lone can lead h uman i ty to a new dest i ny. Th i s steadfast
certa i nty i n you r fu tu re a l l ows you to rero l l a fa i l e d W i l l
sav ing th row once per d ay and g ra nts you a + 2 bonu s on
saves aga i nst dea th effects .
G ift of the loun Star (1 0 Fame, 5 PP) Others i n the o rde r
have hea rd of you r exp lo its , a n d de l i ve r to you an
eastern star ioun stone o r a western star ioun stone a t
you r req uest .
Hunch of Great Dest iny (5 PP) You r esote r i c research
and success fu l adventu res have started to l ead you to
the conc l u s i on that you a re dest ined for g reat t h i ngs .
You g a i n a +2 bonus on B l u f f checks when the s ubject
of d i s cuss ion i s yourse l f a nd on D i p l omacy checks to
unde rscore you r st rong persona l cha racter.
SLOT none CL 1 2th
AURA strong d iv inat ion
PRICE 4,000 GP
WEIGHT -
Th i s red c rysta l is cut in the shape of a f ive -po i nted sta r. I ts
user unde rsta nds spoken and wr i t ten l ang uages as i f unde r
the effects of comprehend languages.
CONSTRUCTION REQUIREMENTS COST 2,000 GP
Craft Wondrous I tem, tongues
SLOT none CL 1 2th
AURA strong i l l us ion
PRICE 4,000 GP
WEIGHT -
Th i s b l u e c rysta l is cu t i n t he s hape of a f ive - po i nted s ta r.
As a sta n d a rd ac t i on , i t s u se r can a l te r h i s appea rance a s
w i th a disguise self s pe l l . When so d i s g u i sed , t he u se r
can re nde r t he western star a nd other ioun stones i n h i s
possess i on i nv i s i b l e .
CONSTRUCTION REQUIREMENTS COST 2,000 GP
Craft Wondrous Item, disguise self
Using the Knights of the loun Star Players need not join the Knights of the Ioun Star for
the order to play a part in a campaign. Consider the
following adventure hooks.
Ancient Enemies: Research on the order or a chance
discovery leads the PCs to a document detailing a
mission undertaken by an Azlanti emperor's personal
guard in the years leading up to the fall of the empire.
The knights did battle with an exiled Azlanti prince
called Nhur Athemon at a massive edifice of green
glass known as the Emerald Spire, which lies in the
modern day River Kingdoms. The PCs can pursue their
investigation into the Knights of the Ioun Star further
in Pathfinder Module: The Emerald Spire Superdun_geon,
which contains more details about the order.
New Emperor: Tales of the PCs' exploits convince an
NPC knight that one among them is the predestined next
emperor of Azlant, who will lead humanity once more
into greatness. The NPC follows the chosen player
character relentlessly, lending a hand whenever he
can. Eventually, more members of the order arrive
to aid the PCs, driven by their zealous belief in the
supposed next emperor. Eventually, however, the
devotees demand that the character take a more active
role in her "duty," and might grow adversarial should the
PC prove reticent to fulfill this new messianic ambition.
The Sun Rises in the East: The strongest faction
of the Knights of the Eastern Star is centered in the
Taldan city of Oppara, though most of its attention is
29
"CCVLT MYSTERIES
cast even further to the east, in the Windswept Wastes
of Casmaron. Adherents of the so-called Apotheosis
Almorain believe that a resurgent cult ofthe Ninshaburian •
hero-god, Namzaruum, will produce the leader destined
to become the next emperor of Azlant. As the campaign
begins, the PCs might hear about an order of ancient
Azlanti knights supporting a desert cult in the distant
east. The Knights eventually lead an army of religious
fanatics out of Kelesh and begin slipping these forces
into Taldor, even as they begin to gather political power
in that nation.
NigiJt Heralds and live on forever. Colonization of the world by the
Mistaken by many for one of the Old Cults, the Night
Heralds do not worship anything as simple as a god,
alien or otherwise. Instead, they view themselves
more as diplomats and scientists-in the black places
between the stars, the Night Heralds find not only their
inspiration, but also the empire they beckon to Golarion:
the mysterious Dominion of the Black. It is the ultimate
goal of many Night Heralds to someday be chosen by
one of the brain-collecting neh-thalggu-the most
numerous contingent within the Dominion-and have
their brains plucked from their skulls, adding to those
used by the alien spellcasters. The Night Heralds believe
this affords them a sort of immortality, allowing their
consciousness and minds to merge with the Dominion
30
Dominion of the Black is an eventual certainty to the
Night Heralds, and they hope that by preparing Golarion
for a swift and easy invasion, they will be rewarded by
attaining this grisly form. How they go about this varies
from cell to cell, but often involves pursuing lost items
and carrying out blasphemous rituals related to the
Dominion and the spaces between the stars.
When not involved in cult activities or study in
hidden monasteries or underground grottoes, the
typical Night Herald goes about the routines of everyday
life. She avoids taking on significant roles in society,
preferring to work at inconspicuous jobs to afford her
greater freedom to pursue her true goals, though if the
cultists determine that getting a member into a key
leadership position will help them realize their dream,
they stop at nothing to attain this goal. For the most
part, Night Heralds reveal themselves publicly only in
remote villages where nearly the entire populace has
been inducted into their beliefs.
While not large, the cult is widely dispersed across
Golarion. Individual cells have only intermittent
contact with each other, each preferring to act alone
in its preparation for the inevitable colonization.
During rituals, Night Heralds wear robes colored at
the bottom with the vibrant hues of sunset, yet as the
eye travels upward, these colors darken to deep purple,
finally culminating in a midnight black hood. The vast
majority of Night Heralds are arcane spellcasters or
rogues; divine spellcasters are almost all oracles and are
a minority. Faith in the divine is simply not of interest
to the Night Heralds, although they are fond of allowing
their enemies to think otherwise in order to keep foes
misinformed and ill-prepared.
Membership in the Night Heralds requires a fanatic
level of devotion to the cause, making this secret society
a poor choice for most PCs, but members of the group
can serve very well as NPC villains for a campaign, and
it's possible that a night herald might try to attach
herself to a party if she learns the PCs are pursuing an
artifact tied to the Dominion of the Black.
NIGHT HERALDS
This loosely affiliated regional cult of lunatics and maniocs is
dedicated to preparing this world for harvest by the Dominion
of the Block.
Location Reg i ona l (Numer ia , Os i r i on, Sodden Lands, Usta l av)
REQUIREMENTS
I n it iat ion Fee Sac red Rite of Open i ng (see be l ow)
I n it iat ion Test Sac red R i te of Open i ng (see be l ow)
Offerings none
MEMBERSHIP
Obeisance Check Hea l, Knowl edge (a rca na, geog ra phy,
l oca l, natu re, o r re l i g i on), L i ngu ist i cs, Spe l l craft
Service Period 1 yea r
Excommunication 4 consecut ive fa i l ed Obe i sance checks
(execut ion v ia extrac t ion of b ra i n wh i le a l ive)
TASKS
Contact (+1 Fame) Once per yea r, you can seek ou t a
representat ive of the Dom in i on of the B l a ck . Th i s cou l d
be an ac tua l membe r of the a l i e n emp i re, a member
of a d i s tant b ranch of the N i g ht He ra l d s, o r some other
expert on the subject . Success at th i s task req u i res that
you record what you l ea rn f rom the contact i n a n encoded
document by succeed i ng at a DC 15 L i n gu is t i cs check .
Sacred Rite of Opening (+2 Fame) A l l new membe rs
of t he N i g ht He ra l d s m ust u nde rgo the Sacred R i te of
Open i n g . U nde rgo i ng th is r i t ua l immed ia te ly i n c reases
new i n i t i a tes ' Fa me sco res; cu r rent mem bers can
u nde rg o t he r i te aga in to i n c rease the i r Fa me scores
f u r t he r, bu t no mo re than on ce every 5 yea rs . Th i s g r i s l y
r i t ua l t akes 2 h o u rs (t he ones preced i n g a n d fo l l ow ing
m i d n i g ht), d u r i n g wh i c h o the r N i g h t He ra l d s pe r fo rm
a t repana t i on o n t he back of you r sku l l to expose you r
b ra i n t o t h e n i g h t sky. T h e c h a rac te r pe r fo rm i ng t h e R i te
of Open i n g o n you m ust at tempt a DC 2 5 Hea l check .
I f s he su cceeds, you t ake 1 d 6 po i nts of Cons t i t u t i on
damage a n d 1 po i nt of W i sdom d ra i n . I f s he fa i ls , you
take 3d6 po in t s of Const i tut ion and I n te l l i gence d r a i n .
Sacrifice (+1 to +5 Fame) Once per yea r, y o u can offer a
sac r i fi ce to the Da rk Ta pestry by r i tu a l l y t repann i n g a
l i v i ng , i n te l l i gent v ic t i m . Do i ng so g ra nts you a bonus to
Fa me equa l to the CR of the sac r i f ice d iv ided by 5 .
AWARDS
I nsane (20 Fame, 4 PP) You have fi n a l l y s u cc umbed a n d
become i n s ane, y e t you r madness d oe s not c r i p p l e
y o u as i t wou l d a m i n d l ess accept i ng of t he cond i t i on .
Red u ce you r W i sdom score by 6-th i s i s a pe rmanen t
reduc t i on that can on l y be restored by greater
restoration or mo re powe r fu l mag i c (tho u g h i f t h i s
occu rs, you l o se a l l benef i ts of t h i s awa rd ) . You can now
use you r Cha r i sma mod i fi e r o n W i l l saves i n stead of you r
W i sdom mod i fi e r, a n d y o u a re i m m u n e t o effects that
cause i n s an i ty o r con fu s i on .
Madness Resistance (1 0 Fame, 2 PP) Long hou rs spent
pour ing over b l a sphemous texts, us i ng m i nd -a l te r i ng
d rugs and po i sons to enhance your percept ion, a nd gaz ing
i nto the a byss a bove have i n u red your m i nd to mad ness .
You ga in a +2 i n s i gh t bonus on a l l sav ing th rows aga i n st
effects that cause i n s an i ty o r con fu s i on .
Research Special ist (1 PP) Leve ls i n the l o remaster prest ige
c lass count as favored c lass leve l s for you .
Using the Night Heralds The Night Heralds can be encountered anywhere across
the face of Golarion, for wherever the darkness between
the stars exerts its fell influence, the Night Heralds are
active. In distant Vudra, the cult is unusually public in
its atrocities and is regarded as a significant menace.
Among the lizardfolk of Droon in southern Garund,
3 1
"CCVLT MYSTERIES
the Night Heralds are a shameful burden from the past
that stubbornly resists all efforts to be expunged. In
the Crown of the World, entire villages of Erutaki serve •
in thrall to the Heralds' madness, and speak of nights
of "dark auroras" when the stars lose their luster and
visitations from the Dark Tapestry seem all too common.
In the Inner Sea region, a cell of the Night Heralds
could be found nearly anywhere, but they are most active
in the following four regions.
Numeria: The Night Heralds of Numeria focus their
interests in the wilds of this region, scouring ruins in
the Felldales or along the nation's borders far from
Starfall to avoid conflicts with the Technic League. They
are less interested in technological artifacts than lore
and information scavenged from the old wrecks. These
cultists often count malfunctioning androids among
their number.
Osirion: The Night Heralds of Osirion are often
obsessed with the mysteries of the Aucturn Enigma. They
use ancient tombs as their headquarters, so adventurers
exploring a crypt might find themselves suddenly
facing living spellcasters when they were expecting
the undead. At least one cult focuses on an entirely
different subject-an exceptionally powerful alien lord
of the Dominion of the Black. This creature, known
as Tychilarius, is believed to be trapped somewhere in
Osirion, and the cult believes the alien's freedom might
be the beacon the Dominion of the Black awaits before
launching its invasion.
Sodden Lands: The Night Heralds were an active force
in Lirgen before the Eye of Abendego transformed the
nation and its neighbor, Yamasa, into the Sodden Lands.
Before the storm, the Night Heralds had an uneasy
alliance with the Lirgeni astrologers known as the Saoc
Brethren. Each group acknowledged the other's skill
and lore concerning the night skies, even if the reasons
for their astronomical obsessions differed wildly.
Yet when the Age of Lost Omens occurred and drove
the Saoc Brethren mad, the Night Heralds weathered
the transition with ease. Today, many of the ruined
observatories of lost Lirgen serve as strongholds from
which the Night Heralds manipulate nearby tribes of
boggards and sodden scavengers alike into serving as
unwitting pawns and protectors.
Ustalav: In Ustalav, the Night Heralds are most active
in the county ofVersex, where they often find themselves
in conflict with agents of the Old Cults who also pursue
ancient texts or alien artifacts. The largest cult in Versex
is based in Thrushmoor, and possesses numerous ties to
that city's scholastic pursuits and centers oflearning. An
adventuring group facing the Old Cults in this region
might well find themselves temporarily allied with the
Night Heralds, although one must always take care when
dealing with those who think the world is nothing more
than a vast farm for alien overlords.
Way of tlJe Kiri I) hands of a few powerful landowners or trade barons
The Way of the Kirin originated during the height of
Imperial Lung Wa's rule (approximately 6800 I C or
4300 AR). Known throughout Tian Xia and as far abroad
as the Padishah Empire of Kelesh, the Way of the Kirin
presents itself as a mercantile consortium but is actually
a private military organization. The group believes that
fair business practices and just social policies create a
lucrative environment for trade. Seeing to it that the
common people are not destitute or taxed into poverty
ensures that their wages go back into the economy and
drives it forward, while consolidating wealth in the
results in money sitting in treasure vaults rather
than keeping the societal machine running smoothly.
Determined to create a fair and robust economic
environment, the Way of the Kirin opposes government
corruption wherever it is found, if necessary with
sharpened steel-especially if its enemies dismiss the
organization's compassion as weak. Unfortunately, the
chaos that erupted during the dissolution of Lung
Wa rapidly overwhelmed the group. The group had
amassed considerable legitimate wealth and resources,
but also gained enemies-many of which struck back
with a vengeance once the opportunity arose. Within a
few decades, the Way of the Kirin was driven into hiding
and transformed into a covert organization.
Today, the Way of the Kirin picks its battles carefully. It
still possesses many resources, but it lacks the influence
and membership it once relied upon. The group never
possessed a single central leader, which left it with many
capable regional commanders but deprived it of a strong
and charismatic figure around whom its members could
unite. The group's most recent step forward came when
it entered into an alliance with the Pathfinder Society in
7213 IC (4713 AR). After a century of secrecy, the organization
is no longer just a legend from a bygone era.
In practice, the Way of the Kirin looks to its sacred
spirit animal as an example. Without disclosing their
collective identity, members use diplomacy, mediation,
and, if necessary, intimidation to seek just resolutions
to conflicts and encourage trade by making it fair for
all sides. If this fails, they evaluate whether the situation
could be improved through anonymous but direct
military action. At its height, the group attracted many
paladins, samurai, and clerics to its rank; these days it
accepts those with almost any skill set (including rogues)
who can demonstrate adherence to the noble group's
code of ethics.
THE WAY OF THE K IR IN
This lawful good organization is rare in its belief that good
business acumen is not antithetical to advocacy for the poor.
When statecraft fails, this paramilitary group takes decisive
military action for the cause of social justice.
Location T ian X ia (fo rmer Lung Wa Emp i re)
REQUIREMENTS
I n it iation Fee 300 g p, m ust have 1 ra n k in P rofess ion
(merchant) o r P rofess ion (so l d i e r)
I n it iat ion Test D i p lomacy DC 20
Offerings 200 g p/serv i ce per iod (20 g p of wh i ch m ust be
donated to a l oca l char i ty each t ime)
MEMBERSHIP
Obeisance Check B l u ff, D i p l omacy, D i sgu ise, Knowl edge
(h i sto ry), Know ledge ( l oca l ), Sense Mot ive
Service Period 4 months
Excommunication 3 consecut ive fa i l ed O be i sance checks
TASKS
Fight I njustice (+1 Fame) The Way of the K i r i n opposes
those who p rey upon the weak and im pover i shed . As
a rewa rd for b r i ng i ng a c r im i na l o r agent of the Go l den
League ( see Go l den League Pats i es, be l ow) to j u st i ce,
you r Fame score i n creases by 1, p rov ided the c r im i n a l i s of
a CR no l ower than you r leve l .
Subt le Hand (+1 Fame) The k i r i n a re a force for good,
but act wi th d i scret i on whenever poss i b l e, and those
who fo l l ow the Way of the K i r in do l i kewise . S hou l d
you reso lve a se r i o u s p rob l em for a common person o r
com m un i ty wi thout th reats o r v i o l ence, you r Fame score
i n creases by 1 , prov ided the encounter i s of a CR no lower
than you r leve l .
AWARDS
Blade of the Emperor (SO Fame) You a re g iven the t i t l e
"B l ade of the Emperor" (refe r r i ng to the em peror k i r i n)
a nd a re excused from payi ng offe r i ngs . You i n stead
receive 1 80 g p per serv ice per iod as a retu rn on many
i nvestments made by the o rgan i za t ion i n you r name .
Add i t io na l l y the base va l u e and spend i ng l im i t of a ny
sett l ement i n c reases by 1 5 % for you and you r a l l i es . Th i s
benef it stacks wi th s im i l a r benef its .
Defender of the People (20 Fame) You a re g iven the t i t l e
"Defende r of the Peop le" a nd receive a 10% d i scount on
pot ions, scro l l s, and wands i n commun it ies where the Way
of the K i r i n i s respected . Add i t i ona l l y, the base va l u e a nd
s pend i n g l im i t of any sett l ement i n creases by 1 5% f o r you
and your a l l i es . Th i s benefit stacks with s im i l a r benef i ts .
Marshal Troops (20 Fame, 3 PP) You can ca l l upon you r
good sta nd i n g and c red i b i l i ty with t h e Way t o make a
case for d i rect m i l i ta ry ac t ion . You can muster an a rmy
with a n Army Cha l l enge Rat ing equa l to you r own CR
(Pathfinder RPG Ultimate Campaign 234) . Th i s a rmy lasts
for on ly one m i l i ta ry engagement and can be ca l led upon
on ly once per serv i ce per iod . Afterwa rd, the a rmy q u i ck ly
d i sbands a nd q u iet ly fades i nto the backg round . The
so ld iers i n the a rmy re fuse to fi gh t for any tyra n n i ca l o r
u nj u st cause .
Sky Steed (1 0 Fame, 2 PP) An impetuous young k i r i n
(Pathfinder RPG Bestiary 3 1 68) a g rees to act as you r
steed f o r a l im i ted t ime . T h e creatu re tempora r i l y rep l a ces
you r mount and stays wi th you for one sho rt adventu re
or 1 week (wh i chever is sho rter) . You can ca l l upon the
serv ice of such a mount on l y once per serv ice per iod .
Using the Way of the Kirin The Way of the Kirin is the only staunchly lawful good
occult organization presented in this book. Yet despite
the Way's alignment and strict codes of honor and
conduct, adventuring parties could still find themselves
at odds with the organization. Some potential plot hooks
revolving around the Way of the Kirin are detailed below.
Agents of Corruption: A local lord or official hires the
PCs to stop a group of well-organized bandits. The party's
33
"CCVLT MYSTERIES
employer is a legal authority who convincingly presents
herself as the injured party, but actually abuses her
citizens. The "bandits" are actually members ofthe Way of •
the Kirin who rob from the rich to aid the poor. Whether
the PCs learn the truth before a confrontation depends
on their investigative skills, and an alliance is possible if
they succeed.
Conflict of Interests: A piece of treasure, like a choice
magical item the PCs would love to obtain, is found in the
possession of oni or other monsters. The item also plays
an important role in the physical and spiritual well-being
of a local village from which it was originally stolen. The
village has nothing close to its value to exchange, so the
Way of the Kirin tries to persuade the PCs to make a gift of
the item's return. If the party refuses, the Way of the Kirin
tries to confiscate the item on behalf of the community.
Golden League Patsies: The Way of the Kirin has many
powerful enemies, including the Golden League-a
powerful organized crime syndicate composed of
"families" in every major city in the Dragon Empires.
Agents and assassins of the Golden League might frame
the PCs to hide their involvement in an underworld
scheme, which draws the ire of the Way upon them.
Another layer of intrigue might be added if this scheme
is deliberately orchestrated to draw the Way of the Kirin
out of hiding in order for the Golden League to strike
while the former group is distracted.
Membership Test: The Way of the Kirin normally
carefully observes potential initiates before revealing the
group's existence. With the news of the organization's
existence slowly leaking out, however, some now seek out
the group to join it, either in earnest or as infiltrators. If
the PCs seek to join, the Way of the Kirin tests their ethics
prior to making contact, assessing how the PCs act when
they don't know they're under observation. A typical test
is staged as treasure stolen by bandits or monsters from
a local community, with scouts from the Way observing
whether the PCs return it or knowingly keep it. Based
on the PCs' choices, an anonymous message is delivered
either giving details on where to meet, or instructing the
PCs to abandon their search.
Opposing Goals: Not all PC groups are good-aligned.
The Way of Kirin can be used as a rival organization
that stands in opposition to the PCs' plans of conquest
and subjugation. If the PCs are simply thieves, the Way
intervenes iflocal authorities are outmatched.
Ulfen Treaty: The Way has brokered a treaty
between the Linnorm Kings and several Tian trading
houses, pledging that the Ulfen would not raid the
trading houses' ships and caravans in exchange for a
trade embargo against Irrisen, but the White Witches
attempted to assassinate the messenger before the
treaty was ratified. The dying Way agent asks the PCs to
get the treaty signed and delivered to the appropriate
parties before the agreement collapses .
ccult practices have always been popular on
Golarion. For those without magical power
themselves, they offer a glimpse into the world
of the esoteric, and sometimes grant abilities that reveal
the more mundane spellcasters of ordinary religions
or arcane schools. For those already versed in the ways
of magic, the occult presents a chance to uncover new
ground and rise above one's peers. For some people, it's
not even the forbidden information available in a secret
society that's appealing, but rather the membership itself:
a chance for an outsider to feel like a part of something
larger, for a lower-caste person to rise above the station
normally proscribed by society, or for a political schemer
to gain both powerful connections and an advantage over
those who would otherwise outrank her.
Secret societies and hidden cults pass down their
carefully guarded practices to new members, and these
esoteric traditions can form myriad combinations of
unpredictable and potent effects. Whether divining by
the movement of heavenly bodies, mutilating one's own
body to draw power, or teasing out the hidden meanings
behind numbers, those who understand these practices
can access incredible (and often dangerous) power.
The following chapter explores several of Golarion's
esoteric traditions, featuring overviews, histories, beliefs
and tenets, centers of practice, variations, new mechanics,
and rules subsystems for each. It is recommended that
Game Masters not introduce too many of these new
rules into a single campaign, or otherwise make them
so prevalent that they lose their mystery and occult
nature. Rather, allow the PCs to seek out the secrets
like those of astrology, numerology, and the harrow
through adventure and research, or make mortification
a key tenet of a powerful cult the heroes must defeat.
Using these systems can help increase the impact of the
stories with which they are interwoven, and exploring
their secrets can provide great seeds for entire multi
level campaigns.
The occult traditions presented in this chapter, and an
overview of the new rules in each section, are as follows.
Astrology This section explores the practice of divining meaning
and channeling power from the movements of heavenly
bodies and the interactions between cosmic forces.
Characters who divine using the Cosmic Caravan, the
most common form of astrology around the Inner Sea,
might take a trait tied to one of 13 sun signs, and those
who know how to interpret the movement of heavenly
bodies can gain temporary benefits by recognizing the
potential in a number of astrological occurrences.
Tl)e Harrow Inspired by the Tarot of our own world, the harrow deck
of Golarion is a divinatory tool with the potential to
35
"CCVLT MYSTERIES
unlock magical power beyond that of normal spellcasters.
The subsystem presented here is a variant on Paizo's Plot
Twist Cards, allowing players to alter reality and control •
their own destinies based on the cards they draw. This
section also presents GMs with suggested plot seeds to
build encounters around the random cards selected as
part of a character's harrow reading.
Several other sources can be useful in unlocking the
full power of the harrow. Full rules for conducting a
harrow reading can be found in the Pathfinder Cards:
Deluxe Harrow Deck, while the Inner Sea World Guide
presents the harrower prestige class. Path.finder Module:
The Harrowin[j explores the deck's origins and meanings
by taking players into the bizarre Harrowed Realm, and
Path.finder Player Companion: Harrower's Handbook explores
even more of the deck's mystical abilities.
Numerology The practice of assigning meaning to numbers or
looking for the innate equations in all things is called
numerology, and has been practiced in many forms
throughout history and across Golarion. This section
presents new feats allowing spellcasters to augment
their spells using arithmancy and sacred geometry.
Additionally, the Tian system of numerology called
the Path of Numbers provides several new spells with
a number of variable effects determined by how a pool
of dice falls.
Mortificatiou Mortification is the practice of ritualistically harming
one's own body in the hope of attaining self-perfection,
magical power, or other personal gain. Though
sometimes gruesome, this practice is not necessarily
evil, and characters of all types might be interested in it.
This section features a system of agonies, daily rituals
which, when carried out, grant the character a number
of powers that scale with her level. Additionally, the pain
taster prestige class presents options for characters who
hope to use their own pain as a means of empowering
their abilities, and who are inspired and motivated by the
pain of their enemies.
Spiritualism Used by cultures throughout the world to allow the living
to communicate with the dead, the practice of spiritualism
is among the most benign of the esoteric traditions in
this chapter, but nevertheless plays an important role in
many occult organizations. New equipment and spells are
presented in this section to allow characters to conduct
seances, as well as a number of haunt effects that allow
the dead to communicate with the living of their own
accord. Finally, this section reprints the occult oracle
mystery which first appeared in Path.finder Adventure Path
#)1: Rasputin Must Die.
Astrolo�y an art, a magical practice, and a science. The interpretive
The practice of astrology on Golarion hinges on the core
beliefthat the movements of the cosmos directly affect the
lives of Golarion's inhabitants. Though the movements
of celestial bodies seem far removed from the quotidian
lives of the average creature, and a causal relationship has
never been proven, many of the most influential events
in Golarion's history coincided with alignments and
conjunctions of far-off forces.
Astrology provides a system by which one can extrapolate
meaning from the patterns that govern the movement of
celestial bodies through the study of constellations and
drawing conclusions about terrestrial events based on
those observations. This process requires both observation
and subjective interpretation, making it simultaneously
36
component sets i t apart from constructive practices that
produce replicable results, like alchemy, spellcraft, or
engineering, leading many arcanists to find it disreputable.
At the same time, however, funding for astrology is often
more easy to come by among the wealthy and powerful than
money for pure astronomy, and many savvy astronomers
have found it prudent to train in both.
The Cosmic Caravan Astrology on Golarion has many traditions, but the
most common around the Inner Sea is that of the
Cosmic Caravan. This system partitions Golarion's
night sky into 13 equal longitudinal sections, each
containing a distinct constellation. While the movement
of these constellations is consistent, year after year,
astrologers find meaning in the positions of the
planets of Golarion's system, its sun, and other celestial
bodies like comets in relation to these 13 signs. Skilled
astrologers are able both to foretell events and to
determine the prevailing influences on an individual's
personality based on the time and location of her birth
and relationships between the myriad orbiting bodies
in the heavens above.
Little is known about the origins of the Cosmic Caravan,
though many scholars believe its study predates the Age
of Enthronement. A common theory holds that it was
originally an Azlanti methodology, and that both the
Varisians who commonly practice it today and the Lirgeni
who followed a similar system were working from the same
ancient source material.
While beliefin the Cosmic Caravan is extremely popular,
it's far from universal. The Dragon Empires zodiac, for
instance, features 12 signs, and the sign which is important
and influential in a given year, month, day, or even hour
is determined not by the position of the stars, but by a
complex cycle closely tied to the phases of the moon.
Each sign in the Dragon Empires zodiac is drawn from
ancient Tian legend, and the constellations are said to be
guarded by the imperial dragons who give the Dragon
Empires their name.
Using the Cosmic Caravan In Avistan and Garund, the Cosmic Caravan is the
astrological tool of choice for most diviners. Though
some cultures grant the Caravan religious connotations,
it is an inherently secular system, available for use by
characters of all cultures, alignments, and faiths. A list
of the Caravan's signs appears on page 37, along with
matching traits for characters born under that
sign. Players who know their characters' birth
dates could incorporate the appropriate traits.
Each sign also features a percentage range, which
allows a player who doesn't know his character's
birth date to determine it with a d% roll.
"'CCVLT MYSTERIES
Ccismic Carava»
d% Sign Corresponding Dates Tra it
1 -7 The Thrush (18 Kuthona-20 Abad i us) L ike the cur ious songb i rds that welcome weary trave le rs, you r voice
.i r ings with sweet c la r i ty. You ga in a + 1 bonus on Perform (s ing)
checks, and Perform (s ing) becomes a c lass ski l l for you .
8-1 4 The Lantern Bearer (21 Abad ius-1 6 Ca l i s t r i l ) You are bathed in the l ight of the Lantern Bearer, who gu ides the
� Caravan through the darkest n ights. You can cast light th ree t imes
per day as a spe l l - l i ke ab i l ity, treat ing your character l evel as your
caster leve l .
1 5-2 1 The Newlyweds (1 7 Ca l istr i l-1 1 Pharast) You r sign i s of two l overs, i ntertwined as one. You ga in a + 2 bonus
Q on D ip lomacy checks to in f luence those who might be romant ica l l y
attracted to you, and D ip l omacy becomes a c l a s s ski l l f o r you.
22-28 The Br idge (1 2 Pharast-1 8 Gozran) The Br idge spans the rush ing waters that separate the da rkness of -...,... winter from the warmth of spr ing . You ga in a + 1 trait bonus on saving
n th rows against spel ls and effects with the cold or darkness descriptors.
29-35 The Daughter ( 1 9 Gozran-1 3 Desnus) You are fi l l ed with the l i ght-hea rted joy of the Daughte r, who dances
m her way into spr ingt ime. Every creature with i n 1 O feet of you adds
+2 mora l bonuses to the DCs of checks to demora l ize them.
36-42 The R ider ( 14 Desnus-20 Saren ith) You are born under the ausp ice of the mounted caravan gua rd,
whose very presence deters danger. Once per day, when you
tcpf succeed at a R ide check, you can attempt an immed iate In t im idate
check aga i nst the nearest foe. I f you fa i l th i s check, the DC of you r
next In t im idate check aga i nst t ha t opponent does no t i ncrease ( a s i t
norma l l y wou ld ) .
43-49 The Patr ia rch (2 1 Saren ith-20 Erastus) L ike the father of the Cosmic Ca ravan, you have an i nnate sense
� of d i rection . Three t imes per day, you can use know direction as a
spe l l - l i ke ab i l i ty, treat ing you r character l evel as you r caster leve l .
50-56 The Wagon (21 E rastus-1 0 Arodus) L ike the veh ic le that conveys trave le rs across the heavens, you a re
��� b lessed with extraord ina ry movement capabi l it ies. Once per day as a
swift action, you can increase you move speed by 1 O feet for 1 round .
57-63 The Pack (1 1 Arodus-1 6 Rava) You are b l essed by the beasts that tra i l the ca ravan, wh ich represent
� protect ion in numbers. You ga in a + 2 tra i t bonus on Hand le An ima l
checks to teach an ima l s tr icks, and Hand le An ima l becomes a c l ass
ski l l for you .
64-70 The Mother ( 1 7 Rova-30 Lamashan) G rant ing warmth and comfort aga inst the forb idd ing co ld of the
� wi lde rness, the Mother is the heart of the Ca ravan . A l l ies with in 1 O feet of you ga in a + 1 mora le bonus on sav ing th rows to resist fea r
effects. Th i s tra it funct ions on ly wh i l e you a re consc ious .
7 1 -77 The Sta r Gazer (3 1 Lamashan-20 Neth) With h i s head in the c louds, the Stargazer sees far-off events, but
F misses the pitfa l l s d i rectly before h im . When ro l l i n g i n it iat ive as part
of a su rpr ise round, you ta ke a -2 pena l ty on i n i t iat ive checks, but
you ga in a +2 luck bonus to AC dur ing a l l su rpr ise rounds .
78-84 The Stra nger (21 Neth-29 Neth) L ike the lone trave le r that wa l ks a longs ide the caravan for but a
& br ief wh i l e, you have a way with strangers. You ga in a + 1 tra i t
bonus on D ip lomacy and Knowledge ( loca l ) checks to gather
in format ion . Add i t iona l ly, e i ther D ip l omacy or Knowledge ( loca l )
becomes a c lass ski l l for you .
85-9 1 The Fol lower (30 Neth-1 7 Kuthona) You are born under the s ign of the dark figu re that t ra i l s the
ll Caravan-the specter of death itse lf. You receive a + 2 bonus on
sav ing th rows aga inst death effects. A l l a l l i es with in 10 feet of you
take a -1 pena lty on sav ing th rows aga inst death effects.
92-1 00 Cusp - You were born r ight on the d iv id ing l i ne between two consecut ive
s igns, provid ing you with a cho ice of wh ich s ign to adopt . Rero l l
dO/o ; t hen choose between the resu l t ing s i gn , or e i ther of the s igns
adjacent to i t .
37
Glossary cif Astrcilogical Terms The fo l lowing terms a re used to descr ibe astro log ica l events.
Apparent Retrograde: The apparent brief reversa l of a
ce lest ia l body's d i rect ion of mot ion as seen from Go la r ion .
Appulse : A very c lose app roach of two ce lest ia l
bod ies so that they a re i n conj un ct ion but no ec l i pse o r
occu l tat ion occurs .
Ascendant: A ce lest ia l body that appea rs to be
ascend ing on the eastern horizon .
Conjunction: Two or more celest ia l bod ies a l igned i n a
stra ight l i ne with Go la r ion .
[Planet] in [Constel lation]: When a given p la net
appears to an observer on Go la rion to be i n a port ion of
the sky ruled by a g iven sign, that p l anet is said to be in
the associated conste l la t ion .
Sun Sign: Th is conste l lat ion in wh ich the sun appea red
at a g iven point i n time. S i nce the sun is between
this conste l lat ion and Go la r ion, its l i ght obscures the
conste l l at ion from view, prevent ing observers from see ing
the dominant s ign du ring the month du ring wh ich it most
strong ly in f luences Go lar ion .
For more i nformat ion on Go la r ion's so la r system, see
Pathfinder Campaign Setting: Distant Worlds.
Astrology on Golarion In some cultures, celestial divination is an esoteric
discipline, while for others it's a major cultural institution.
The following are several cultures that hold astrology as
a foundational practice.
D esnans: Having been credited with the creation of
the heavens, and residing among the stars of the Material
Plane, the goddess Desna is a fitting patron of astrologers.
Her faithful are often conscious of their Caravan signs,
and the few permanent temples to Desna often double as
observatories. The Varisian people are notably committed
to Desna, and they practice several types of divination,
including astrology and harrow readings.
Blink Dogs: Astrology is a cultural foundation of these
good-natured magical beasts, and blink dog packs often
take celestial omens into account when making decisions.
Each pack has a sage, who councils the alpha of the group
on the meaning of such omens, and also preserves the
astrological tradition of that race.
Lunar Nagas: These creatures are masters of astrology,
and their entire culture revolves around it. Lunar nagas have
several zodiacs, which they use to create tome upon tome of
celestial calculations. Though they do not commonly share
their findings with humanoids, they are commonly regarded
as some of the most skillful astrologers on Golarion.
O sirion: Ancient Osirion's obsession with other
worlds, particularly the planet Aucturn, led to a great
deal of astrology following the reign of the Four Pharaohs.
Rather than a single unified practice, this resulted in a
38
renaissance of countless original and sometimes bizarre
systems, almost all of which have since died out, but which
continue to puzzle scholars.
Qadira: The rulers of Qadira make extensive use of
astrologers in their noble courts. That nation's ruler, Satrap
Xerbystes II, currently employs several court astrologers
to advise him on matters of state. Chief among these is
the Keleshite diviner Greogorik Taraspi, who in addition
to his advisory role is an astronomer of great renown,
and has publicly admitted to having achieved contact and
communication with races from other planets.
Rahadoum: One might expect Rahadoum to sneer at all
divination, seeing in astrology and astrologers a dangerous
similarity to priests and religion, and in some cases this is
true. Yet the ability to potentially divine the future using
scientific practices-and without indenturing oneself to
any divine being-has significant appeal, and Rahadoum
houses a healthy astrological community.
Saoc Brethren: The Saoc Brethren was a cadre of
astrologers who ruled the fallen nation ofLirgen. Having
mastered the art of celestial divination, the Brethren used
prophecy extensively in making state decisions. However,
their foresight proved imperfect, as they failed to predict
the formation of the Eye of Abendego and its subsequent
destruction of their homeland.
Other Astrological Events For those able to divine the influence of celestial events, the
terrestrial world is a constantly shifting field of energies
that appear arbitrary to the uninitiated. Depending on the
ever-changing positions of the heavens, certain actions
become auspicious, while others become needlessly difficult.
The table below lists a series of astrological events
that knowledgeable characters can exploit to alter the
way in which they interact with the world. Characters
can detect an astrological event by succeeding at a single
Knowledge (arcana), Knowledge (nature), or Knowledge
(planes) skill check made up to once per day, representing
their consultation of star charts or observation of the night
sky. The DCs for these checks vary from event to event as
noted in the Astrological Events table. Using a star chart
or astrological reference (treat as a masterwork tool that
grants a bonus to one of the applicable Knowledge checks)
grants a +2 bonus on this check. Celestial events that last
longer than i day provide their benefits for the event's entire
duration, and can be stacked atop additional effects if the
character makes the requisite check the following day. If
a character fails her skill check, she must wait 24 hours
before reattempting the check to determine the next day's
astrological events.
GMs can choose astrological events based on their
thematic ties to events in their campaigns, or by making a
d% roll. The following table provides some sample events;
GMs are encouraged to invent their own based on the
associations of the planets and the Cosmic Caravan.
"'CCVLT MYSTERIES
Astrological Eveots
1 1111';11 11• 1 :f'iTi'ITTJr.:!'iITT'l111l
1 -5 Akiton Ascendant Spe l l s you cast that dea l damage and requ i re an attack ro l l to h i t 2 hours 1 4
dea l 2 add i t iona l po ints o f damage .
6-1 0 Liava ra Ascendant You ga in a + 2 bonus on caster l evel checks when cast ing mind- 2 hours 1 4
affecti ng spe l l s .
1 1 -1 5 Castrovel You ga i n a + 2 bonus on caster l evel checks when casting m ind - 2 hours 1 4
Ascendant affecti ng spe l l s .
1 6-20 Aba l lon Ascendant You ga in a +2 bonus on in it iat ive checks . 2 hours 1 4
2 1 -25 Bretheda You cast cure spel ls at + 1 caster l evel but cure spel ls target ing 2 hours 1 4
Ascendant you a re cast at -1 caster leve l .
26-30 Aucturn Ascendant You cast i l l us ion spe l l s at + 1 caster l evel, but i l l us ions spe l l s 2 hours 1 4
target ing you are a lso cast a t + 1 caster leve l .
3 1 -35 Verces Ascendant You a re subject to the effects of nondetection for th i s per iod . 2 hours 1 4
36-40 Apostae Ascendant You ga in a + 2 bonus on Stea lth checks. 2 hours 1 4
4 1 -45 Tr iaxus Ascendant You ga in a + 2 bonus on Su rviva l checks . 2 hours 1 4
46-50 Eox Ascendant You ga in a +2 bonus on the next Knowledge check you attempt . 2 hours 1 4
5 1 -54 Tr iaxus i n the You r speed increases by 5 feet but you cannot move twice i n a 24 hours 1 6
Wagon round or take a charge act ion .
55-58 Verces in the You cast spel ls with the shadow descriptor at + 1 caster level, but you 24 hours 1 6
Lantern Bearer must succeed at a caster level check equa l to 15 + the spel l level
i n order to cast any spel l with the l ight or da rkness descriptors.
59-62 Eox i n the Fo l l ower You cast spel ls with the death descr iptor at + 1 caster l evel but 24 hours 1 6
take a -2 pena l ty o n sav ing th rows aga inst death effects.
63-66 Meteor Shower You attempt concentration checks at a -2 penalty. The DC for enemies 48 hours 1 6
you threaten for the purpose of cast ing defensively increases by 2 .
67-70 Conj unct ion of You gain a +2 bonus on Heal checks but ta ke a -2 pena l ty on 1 week 1 4
Bretheda and Const i tut ion checks to stab i l ize.
Au ct urn
7 1 -74 Conj unct ion of You gain a + 2 bonus on Percept ion checks but take a -2 pena l ty 1 week 1 4
Liava ra and Tr iaxus on Acrobat ics checks.
75-78 Conj unct ion of You ga i n a + 2 bonus on Su rviva l checks but take a -2 pena l ty on 1 week 1 4
Castrovel and Eox Knowledge (nature) checks .
79-82 Appu lse of Akiton You take a -2 pena l ty on D ip l omacy checks but the DC of a l l 1 week 1 4
and Apostae In t im idate ski l l checks attempted aga inst you inc reases by 2.
83-86 Appu lse of L iava ra You ga in a +2 bonus on Stea lth checks but take a -2 pena l ty on 1 week 1 4
and B retheda Percept ion checks .
87-90 Appu lse of Verces You ga in a + 2 bonus on Sense Motive checks but ta ke a -2 1 week 1 4
and L iava ra pena l ty on B lu ff checks .
9 1 -93 Akiton i n Apparent You gain a +1 bonus on attack ro l l s but take a -2 pena l ty to 48 hours 1 8
Retrograde your AC.
94-95 Aucturn in Apparent You take a -2 pena l ty on Wisdom checks and Wisdom-based 48 hours 1 8
Retrograde ski l l checks but gain a + 2 bonus on Wi l l sav ing th rows.
96-97 Eox in Apparent You take a -1 pena l ty on attack ro l l s aga i nst undead targets but 48 hours 1 8
Retrograde ga in a + 2 bonus to AC aga inst attacks by undead .
98-99 Comet Passes Near The DC of a l l spe l l s and spe l l - l i ke ab i l i t ies you cast i ncreases by 24 hours 20
Go la r ion 1 but you ta ke a -1 pena l ty on a l l sav ing th rows.
1 00 Ent i re So la r System You ga in spe l l resistance equa l to 1 O + you r ranks i n the 1 hour 20
in A l ignment Knowledge ski l l used to identify and exp lo i t th i s cosmic event .
You cannot lower th i s spe l l resista nce.
39
TIJe Harrow cards to the region, which their Varisian subjects altered
The modern harrow deck is the culmination of millennia
of storytelling, travel, arcane research, and shared tragedy.
Though many wanderers and gamblers claim to read the
cards, a rare minority of true harrowers can tap into the
weave of destiny through the deck to channel and enhance
their own magic.
At a mundane level, the harrow is used to play games,
divine the future, and separate fools from their coin.
Each card is a beautiful work of art, handcrafted and
passed down through generations of mystics. To a trained
harrower, each card is steeped in symbolism and meaning.
In the distant past, every harrower crafted her own unique
deck, but over time the standard deck of 54 cards evolved
and is now accepted by all but the most exotic mystic or
foolhardy dabbler.
The 54 cards ofthe harrow are divided into six suits and
nine alignments, with each suit featuring a single card
per alignment. The alignments hint at a card's meaning:
positive or negative and past, present, or future. The suits
hammers, keys, shields, books, stars, and crowns-roughly
correspond to the concepts central to a caravan's life: The
suit of hammers concerns matters of warfare, hunting,
and reputation. The suit of keys evokes both larceny and
things closely guarded, like children or dreams. The suit of
shields reflects home, community, health, and things kept
at hand. Books encompass learning, history, and managing
resources or wealth. The suit of stars concerns esoteric and
intangible matters such as tradition, the gods, and folklore.
Lastly, the suit of crowns delves into those things that rule
every mortal: romance, family, and one's place in the world,
along with mundane rulership.
A harrow reading is a somber affair. Because a harrowing is
subjective and personal, most practitioners learn to read their
subjects as much as the cards to inform their prophecy. The
subject (or subjects) states a single question clearly, and the
harrower withdraws the nine cards ofthe suit associated with
that concern and shuffles them. Each participant draws one of
these cards to learn his role in events to come (the "role card").
The entire harrow deck is then reshuffled. Nine cards are
drawn and typically laid out in a three-by-three array. Cards
in the left column represent the past, while cards in the
right reveal the future. Each card's alignment interacts with
its placement in the array, and its meaning might be more
or less important, or even inverted, based on its position.
Finally, any role cards that reappear in the array mean
that the indicated participant has a vital role to play, and
provides some clue to his purpose. For more information
on conducting harrow readings and the interpretations of
individual cards, see the Deluxe Harrow Deck.
The Harrow on Golarion The harrow deck is most famously associated with the
Varisian wandering clans of northwestern Avistan. The
Azlanti colonists who founded Thassilon brought playing
40
by adorning them with iconography from their own
folklore. In the Age of Legends, hundreds of unique cards
existed, but with Earthfall, most of the Varisians' lore
was lost. The Imlios family dedicated itself to gathering
whatever hereditary knowledge they could, but over
the centuries, the family dwindled to a single woman:
Sonnorae. Sonnorae used Thassilonian magic and her
family's harrow deck to create a pocket dimension forged
from dreams, where her library ofVarisian lore would be
safe. Most Varisians now use Sonnorae's Deck of Harrowed
Tales as the archetype for their own harrow decks, hoping
to sympathetically tap into the Harrowed Realm's power
and vast store of knowledge.
Far to the south, wealthy traders brought the harrow
to Absalom. Initially, the cards were little more than
an amusement, but after the death of Aroden, many in
Absalom began to take them seriously. Most notably,
Arodenites lay out a circular array known as the All
Seeing Eye instead of the standard three-by-three grid,
and assign the alignment of each card a numerical value
to incorporate some elements of Osirian numerology.
Harrowing Plot Twists The harrow deck can be used as an alternative deck of
Pathfinder Cards: Plot Twist Cards. Plot Twist Cards provide
minor story-altering effects that players can use to affect
the plot of an adventure, as well as story seeds that the
GM can integrate into the campaign to give the players
an opportunity to use their cards' effects.
At the start of the campaign as well as every time she
gains a level, a PC takes part in an individual in-character
harrow reading and gains a harrow card to use as a Plot
Twist Card. When a player character gains this card, he can
select either his role card or the card whose array position
corresponds to his alignment. A PC may have multiple Plot
Twist Cards in hand at a time, to a maximum ofhis level. A
Plot Twist Card can be played at any time, even on another
character's turn, but a PC can only make use of one harrow
card as a Plot Twist Card per round.
To make a reading stand out as truly prophetic, Game
Masters might wish to build specific encounters or
adventures based on the cards in the PCs' harrow readings,
especially for cards that reflect a character's alignment
or her respective role cards. Each harrow card detailed
below has two characteristics listed. The "Plot Twist" entry
indicates the mechanical effect of playing the harrow card
as a Plot Twist card. The target referred to in this entry
is chosen by the PC who is using the card. The "Seed"
entry is a suggestion the GM can work into the campaign
to give the player an opportunity to use the Plot Twist
effect; incorporating the seed into the campaign in this
manner allows the GM to foreshadow future events and
create the illusion for the player that the harrow card is
truly prophetic.
S u i t of Swords Cards in the suit of swords are tied to Strength.
THE PALAD IN (LG)
Plot Twist Sh i ft an N PC's at t i tude one step toward he l pf u l .
Seed The loca l l aw enforcement cha l l enges the PCs .
THE KEEP (NG)
Plot Twist Ta rget converts a l l damage from one attack i nto
non l etha l damage .
Seed The PCs m ust penetrate a secu re l o cat i on .
THE B IG SKY (CG)
Plot Twist Ta rget ga i n s a + 1 O bonus on its next Strength o r
Escape Art ist c he c k t o free i tse l f .
Seed S l aves fi gh t for freedom .
THE FORGE (LN)
Plot Twist Ta rget ga i n s a +20 bonus on one Craft check .
Seed The PCs a re c ha l l enged to a test of sk i l l s .
THE BEAR (N)
Plot Twist Ta rget fa l l s p rone, o r sta nds from prone as a free
ac t ion that does not p rovoke attacks of oppor tun ity.
Seed Tamed an ima l s fi gh t for a h i dden master.
THE UPRIS ING (CN)
Plot Twist Ta rget becomes confused (as the confusion spe l l ) for 3 rounds .
Seed An a ng ry mob th reatens the l oca l l eader.
THE F I END (LE)
Plot Twist Ta rget takes a -20 pena l ty on i ts next attack or
combat maneuver.
Seed Ev i l ou ts ide rs m ust feed on the PCs or those they've
sworn to p rotect .
THE BEATING (NE)
Plot Twist Ta rget immed iate ly p rovokes attacks of
oppor tun ity f rom foes that th reaten it .
Seed Ho rdes of wa l k i ng dead r i se by n igh t .
THE CYCLONE (CE)
Plot Twist: Hu rr i cane-force winds (Core Rulebook 439) sur round the target in a 5-foot rad i u s for 3 rounds .
Seed I nsane a i r e l ementa l s a re bent on dest ruct i on .
S u i t of Keys Cards in the suit of keys are tied to Dexterity.
THE DANCE (LG)
Plot Twist Ta rget ga i n s the benefits of freedom of
movement for 1 rou nd .
Seed A c h a l l e n ge o r g ua rd i a n must be overcome th rough
g race, not force.
41
"CCVLT MYSTERIES
THE CRICKET (NG)
Plot Twist Ta rget's speed i n c reases by 30 feet for 1 ro und
Seed A g r i g m ust dance, but cannot dance a l one .
THE JUGGLER (CG)
Plot Twist Ta rget ga i n s the Def l ect Arrows feat for the rest of
the combat .
Seed G i ants attempt to c rush the PCs f rom afa r.
THE LOCKSMITH (LN)
Plot Twist Ta rget ga i n s a +1 0 bonus on a s i ng l e D i s ab l e
Device check .
Seed Th ieves come for the PCs' treasu res i n the n i g ht .
THE PEACOCK (N)
Plot Twist Ta rget i s pa ra lyzed for 1 rou nd .
Seed PC s m ust rescue a petr i f ied v ic t i m .
THE RABBIT PRINCE (CN)
Plot Twist Ta rget takes a -5 pena l ty to its AC, but ga i n s a +5
bonus on me lee attack ro l l s for the rema i nde r of combat .
Seed A dar ing bravado cha l l enges the PCs i n a n ef for t to
bu i ld he r reputat i on .
THE AVALANCHE (LE)
Plot Twist Ta rget enters a rage, as the spe l l , for 3 rou nds .
Seed A rocks l i de th reatens the PCs, a v i l l a ge, o r a n a l l y.
THE CROWS (NE)
Plot Twist Ta rget ga i n s sneak attack +3d6 for 1 round .
Seed Th i eves p lo t to l o o t the PCs .
THE DEMON'S LANTERN (CE)
Plot Twist Ta rget takes a -1 0 pena l ty on Su rv iva l a nd
Percept ion checks t o not i ce hazards for the nex t 24 hou rs .
Seed A fa l se l u re g u ides the PCs i nto dange r.
S u i t of S h i e l d s Cards in the suit of shields are tied to Constitution.
THE TRUMPET (LG)
Plot Twist Ta rget i s i m m u ne to fea r effects for the
rema i nde r of the combat .
Seed Archons demand the PCs answer for some c r ime,
wh i ch they m igh t or m i g ht not have comm itted .
THE SURVIVOR (NG)
Plot Twist Dying ta rget is immed iately hea led up to 1 h i t po int .
Seed Ghosts seek a id , not revenge .
THE DESERT (CG)
Plot Twist Ta rget ga i n s a +1 0 bonus on Su rv iva l checks to
endu re host i l e c l i mates for 24 hou rs .
Seed A sph i nx offers a contest to tes t the PCs, but fa i l u re
comes with a terr i b l e p r i ce .
THE BRASS DWARF (LN)
Plot Twist Ta rget ga i n s ene rgy res ista nce 10 to one energy
type unt i l the end of combat .
Seed A sma l l fa i l u re sets ho r r i b l e consequences i n moti on .
THE TEAMSTER (N)
Plot Twist Ta rget can immed i ate ly attempt a new savi ng
th row aga i nst one effect cu rrent ly affect i ng i t , a nd ga i n s a
+S bonus on th i s ro l l .
Seed A maste rm ind d i rects monstrous attacks .
THE MOUNTAIN MAN (CN)
Plot Twist Ta rget ga i n s a +4 bonus on Strength - and
Const i tu t ion -based check s for 3 rounds .
Seed Maraud i ng g i a nts a re even l a rge r and more dangerous
than they shou l d be .
THE TANGLED BRIAR (LE)
Plot Twist P la nts entangle (a s the spe l l ) the target for
1 m i n ute.
Seed Stra ng l i n g vines and p l an t creatu res over run a
safe haven .
THE S ICKNESS (NE)
Plot Twist Ta rget i s immed iate ly i n fected with a d i sease .
Seed P lague overwhe lms the l oca l popu l a ce .
THE WAXWORKS (CE)
Plot Twist Ta rget i s s tunned for 1 rou nd .
Seed An enemy isn ' t wha t t h ey seem.
Su i t of Books Cards in the suit ofbooks are tied to Intelligence.
THE H IDDEN TRUTH (LG)
Plot Twist Ta rget ga ins benefits of see in visibility for 3 rounds
Seed A confound i ng sage w i l l on l y a nswer i n ha l f-t ruths .
THE WAN DERER (NG)
Plot Twist Ta rget can un cover a n i tem worth u p to SOO gp
among junk o r refuse .
Seed A c r u c i a l c h a rac te r o r t rea s u re ha s l e f t town fo r
po i n t s u n known .
THE JOKE (CG)
Plot Twist Ta rget i s i m m u n e to fea r a n d emot ion effects
tha t wou l d i m pose a pena l ty for 3 ro und s .
Seed An opponen t i s phys i ca l l y overwhe lm i n g bu t
menta l l y f ra g i l e .
THE INQU IS ITOR (LN)
Plot Twist One of target 's weapons ga i n s the bane property
for the rest of the combat .
Seed I nvest igators beg i n tea r i ng th rough the PCs '
decept ions o r i l l u s i ons .
42
THE FOREIGN TRADER (N)
Plot Twist Ta rget can immed iate ly swa p p l a ces wi th a
w i l l i n g adjacent c reat u re or attempt a free repos i t ion
combat maneuver wi th a +4 bonus and wi thout p rovok ing
attacks of oppor tun ity.
Seed A myste r ious merchant has what the PCs need, but
asks i m poss i b l e pr i ces .
THE VIS ION (CN)
Plot Twist Ta rget must se lect a new target for i ts ac t i on .
Seed A madman must make the PCs l i sten .
THE RAKSHASA (LE)
Plot Twist Ta rget takes a -1 0 pena l ty on the i r next Sense
Mot ive check .
Seed A shapesh ifter is u s i ng the PCs to accomp l i sh i t s goa l s .
THE ID IOT (NE)
Plot Twist : Ta rget takes a -6 penalty on I n te l l i g ence-based
checks for 3 rou nds .
Seed Sma l l, s imp le -m inded creatu res a re mak ing b ig t roub le .
THE SNAKEBITE (CE)
Plot Twist Ta rget weapon is i n sta nt ly coated with a dose of
b l a ck adde r venom (Pathfinder RPG Core Rulebook 558) .
Seed An assass in l a shes ou t aga i nst the PCs ' suppo rters .
S u i t of Sta rs Cards in the suit of stars are tied to Wisdom.
THE WINGED SERPENT (LG)
Plot Twist Ta rget can immed iate ly take an extra standa rd o r
move ac t i on .
Seed Good i ntent ions b l ock the PCs' p rog ress .
THE MIDWIFE (NG)
Plot Twist Ta rget ga i n s a +1 0 bonus on one Heal or
Knowledge ski l l check .
Seed A m i dd l i n g power seeks to b r i ng someth i ng mo re
power fu l i n to the wor ld .
THE PUBLICAN (CG)
Plot Twist Ta rget can t ransform one l i q u i d i nto a cure serious
wounds pot i on .
Seed I ns i g hts come f r om a one-eyed st range r.
THE QUEEN MOTHER (LN)
Plot Twist : 1d3 a rb i te r i nevita b les (Pathfinder RPG Bestiary
2 1 62) appea r a nd se rve the target th rough one c r i s i s .
Seed The PCs m ust work for the l oca l nob i l i ty o r be c rushed .
THE OWL (N)
P lot Twist Ta rget can spea k to a nd unde rsta nd an ima l s for
24 hou rs .
Seed An imba l a nce i n natu re th reatens everyone nearby.
THE CARNIVAL (CN)
Plot Twist Ta rget a utomat ica l l y fa i l s i ts next sav ing t h row
aga i nst a n i l l u s i on effect
Seed Chaos e ru pts a round the PCs and bystande rs a l i ke,
th rough no fa u l t of t he i r own
THE ECLIPSE (LE)
Plot Twist Ta rget's channe led energy, cure spe l l s, and inflict
spe l l s hea l o n ly ha l f as many h i t po i nts, or dea l ha l f as
much damage, for 24 hou rs
Seed: An unschedu led ec l i pse ra ises rest less undead
THE MUTE HAG (NE)
Plot Twist Ta rget cannot speak for 1 round
Seed A v i l e woman p r i e s secrets f r om the PCs, o r a n o l d
woman ha rbors a terr i b l e secret
THE LOST (CE)
Plot Twist Ta rget ga i n s negat ive energy aff i n i ty for
1 m i n ute
Seed A s l a i n he ro retu rns to undo his good deeds
Su it of Crowns Cards in the suit of crowns are tied to Charisma.
THE EMPTY THRONE (LG)
Plot Twist Ta rget can aid a nother on a n a l ly 's check,
rega rd l ess of range, as a n immed iate ac t ion
Seed The he i r i s m iss ing
THE TH EATER (NG)
Plot Twist Ta rget can use B l u ff, D i p l omacy, o r I n t im idate to
affect one m i nd less construct or u ndead
Seed The puppets a re not what they seem
THE UN ICORN (CG)
Plot Twist Ta rget can vo lun ta r i l y take any amount of
damage to hea l a nother creatu re the same amount
Seed A no rma l l y good creature is ra mpag i n g t h r ough
the count rys ide
THE MARRIAGE (LN)
Plot Twist Ta rget noncom batant becomes f r i end ly, as the
D i p l omacy sk i l l
Seed U n l i ke ly a l l i es work together t o c reate someth i ng new
THE TWIN (N)
Plot Twist Attacks aga i n st the ta rget have a 50% m i ss
chance for 1 ro und
Seed A mirror of opposition a ppears i n the u n l i ke l i est p l a ce
THE COURTESAN (CN)
Plot Twist Ta rget ga i n s the benef its of Imp roved Fe in t for
the rema i nde r of the combat
Seed A soc ia l gather ing tu rns dead ly
43
"CCVLT MYSTERIES
THE TYRANT (LE)
Plot Twist Ta rget can not attack for 1 ro und
Seed A dead ly f oe moves to se i ze power
THE BETRAYAL (NE)
Plot Twist Ta rget can not hea l damage for the rest of combat
Seed A f r iend o r l over bet rays the PCs
THE LIAR (CE)
Plot Twist Ta rget can not speak the t ruth for 5 rounds a nd
has 50% spe l l fa i l u re chance when cast ing any spe l l w i th
a verba l component
Seed A secret soc iety twis ts the t ruth
Mcirtificatkm Bekyar: Natives of the southeastern coast of Garund,
Pain is a fact of life. It's unavoidable, inevitable, and
unpleasant. However, for most creatures, pain is also an
important warning system, helping creatures correctly
judge their abilities and physical needs, as well as a
necessary side effect of growth and evidence of progress.
Though most view pain as an obstacle to overcome or
avoid if possible, for those individuals who practice
mortification, pain is a vehicle for self-perfection.
Mortification is an umbrella term for a number of
practices that involve intentional self-harm, including
blinding, deprivation trials, amputation, and a host
of other practices. Mortification can be a vehicle for
magical power, sexual pleasure, or simple aesthetics,
depending on the practice. While most associate
mortification rituals with evil cults, ascetic traditions
involving practices like self-flagellation, fasting, and
deprivation are not uncommon among zealous sects of
nonevil faiths (including some mystery cults devoted
to empyreal lords). To these believers, mortification is
a demonstration of transcendence or dedication, or a
means of purging the body of impurity. These faiths
classify mortification as evil only when it is used to cause
suffering or harm to an unwilling subject.
Members of many cults that revere deformity
and monstrosity, such as those loyal to Lamashtu,
demonstrate their devotion by mutilating their bodies
to resemble the forms of their divine patrons. Others
most notably the followers of Zon-Kuthon-pursue
pain for its own sake, engaging in contests of self
mutilation to display mastery over pain and settle status
disputes within the group. Followers of Irori, Nethys,
and some empyreal lords instead pursue painful trials
to prove their steadfastness, whether through fasting,
sleep deprivation, or more intense practices like the
mortification rituals of mystery cultists. Such trials are
often intended to empty the body of all worldly influence
so it can be filled with divine power.
There is also a category of ritual behavior that achieves
gains not through self-harm, but by inflicting pain on
others without their consent. Followers of Zon-Kuthon,
who revel in both receiving and giving pain, practice
torture rituals. Sacrifices of humanoids and other
intelligent creatures are common among nihilistic cults,
like those of Rovagug, who venerate destruction for its
own sake. Several cults whose worship involves the
eroticization of pain, such as those of the archdevil Belial
and demon lords Nocticula and Socothbenoth, perform
ritual sadism that involves inflicting pain or degradation
on others for the purpose of achieving pleasure.
Mortification on Golarion Though not performed openly in most regions,
mortification is nevertheless practiced by a variety of
cultures and races across Golarion.
44
the Bekyar are demon-worshipers who specialize in slave
trading. Their extensive piercing and scarring adds to
their ferocious reputations; they also brand their slaves,
using different symbols to connote the value, origins, and
skill sets of their humanoid merchandise.
Drow: These twisted elves, who dwell in the Darklands
layer of Sekamina, are masters of a cruel art called
"fleshwarping." Fleshwarpers use living creatures as
canvases to achieve a variety of effects. One common goal is
to continuously erase the signs of aging, giving the subject
the appearance of eternal youth. Other fleshwarpers
specialize in mutilating captured enemies or outcasts,
deforming them into monstrosities. The hybrid spider
creatures known as driders are examples of such practices.
Kuthites: These clandestine worshipers of Zon
Kuthon are definitely the most highly publicized
practitioners of sadomasochism on Golarion. Zon
Kuthon's temples are often converted dungeons, and
his services always include torture, whether that of a
willing member or an unwilling victim. Kuthites are
experts at extreme body modification, and are used to
hiding such alteration from the public eye, often going
so far as to wear the skins of their victims over their
own gruesome wounds.
Ores: In ore culture, where strength is revered, battle
scars are commonly displayed as signs of prowess. Ores
use a variety of rudimentary tattooing techniques to
accentuate combat wounds, as well as to demonstrate the
completion of various rites of passage. Tattooing, scars,
and piercing are common among both ore genders for
aesthetic as well as hierarchical purposes.
Agonies For many practitioners of mortification, pain is an almost
religious experience. Even those who do not practice self
mutilation at the behest of gods can nevertheless gain
benefits for performing ritualizing physical sacrifices.
Characters who take the Agonizing Obedience feat (see
page 45) can choose a path of pain called an agony; by
performing that agony's obedience, they gain boons.
Spellcasting practitioners can integrate their obedience
completely with their normal hour-long rituals and
methods of preparing or regaining spells; others are free
to perform obediences at any point during the day.
A m p utat ion You have amputated a digit on one of your hands and
treated the wound such that it will never fully heal.
Obedience: Manipulate the scabs, scar tissue, and open
wound of your amputated digit, preventing it from closing
and forcing bits of metal and glass into the wound. Take
a -2 penalty on Disable Device, Disguise, Escape Artist,
and Sleight of Hand skill checks, as well as to your CMD
against disarm maneuvers. When attempting to cast a
spell with somatic components, succeed at a caster level
check whose DC is equal to 5 + twice the spell level or lose
the spell slot with no effect. Gain a +2 bonus on saving
throws against transmutation spells; this bonus increases
to +4 against spells in the polymorph subschool.
Boon 1: In addition to the normal effects of your agony
strike, the target has a chance of dropping one object held
in its hand immediately after you hit it with the agony
strike. A successful Reflex save (DC 10 + 1/2 your HD +
your Dexterity modifier) avoids this effect.
Boon 2: You gain the use of a phantom arm, which
functions as the vestigial arm alchemist discovery
(Pathfinder RPG Ultimate Ma_gic i8) save that it is an
invisible force effect, it does not grant an additional ring
magic item slot, and it cannot make attacks.
Boon 3: You are immune to effects that would cause
you to become sickened, and you gain a +4 bonus on
saving throws against any conditions that would make
you nauseated.
B l i n d i n g You temporarily blind yourself with blood t o heighten
your other senses.
Obedience: Scratch at your eyes with your fingernails,
jagged metal shavings, and thorny branches, allowing
the blood from your wounds to form thick scabs over
your eyelids and tear ducts. Take a -4 penalty on vision
based Perception checks, and anytime you make an attack
against a target benefiting from concealment, increase the
miss chance by 10% (maximum 50%). Gain a +4 bonus on
saving throws against illusions in the pattern subschool
and against gaze attacks.
Boon 1: Creatures affected by your agony strike have the
distance they can see in areas of dim light and darkness
reduced by 50%.
Boon 2: You gain a gaze attack with a range of 30 feet
that you can activate as a standard action. You can use this
ability a number of minutes per day equal to half your hit
dice; these minutes need not be consecutive but you must
use the ability in 1-minute increments. Enemies affected
by your gaze are frightened for i minute. A successful
Will saving throw (DC 10 + 1/2 your HD + your Charisma
modifier) negates this effect. A creature that successfully
saves against your gaze is immune to its effects for 24 hours.
Boon 3: Your affinity to pain allows you to sense
suffering in others. You gain lifesense out to a distance
of6o feet.
F lens ing Practitioners of the agony of flensing are adept at finely
removing the skin from living flesh, revealing the
vulnerable tissue beneath.
Obedience: Remove a patch of your own skin measuring
at least 3 square inches with a flensing knife, while carefully
avoiding damage to the muscles, veins, and other tissues
45
"CCVLT MYSTERIES
New feat: Agonizing Obedience You physically defile yourself out of zealous
devotion to pain in order to gain special boons.
Prerequisites: 3 ranks in Heal.
Benefit When you take this feat, select an agony.
You can gain this feat multiple times, each time
selecting a different agony, but you can perform an
obedience for only a single agony in a 24-hour period.
Each agony requires a different obedience, but all
obediences take only an hour to perform. Once the
obedience has been performed, you take a number of
minor penalties and gain the benefit of a resistance
to some element or attack associated with your agony,
as indicated below. Additionally, you gain the ability
to make an agony strike. A number of times per day
equal to 1 + 1 per every 5 Hit Dice you possess, when
you deal damage to a creature, you can declare that
attack as an agony strike. In addition to the normal
damage dealt by the attack, you cause the target to
take the penalties associated with your agony for i
minute. Incorporeal creatures and creatures that are
immune to critical hits are immune to agony strikes.
If you have at least 12 Hit Dice, you also gain the
first boon granted by your agony upon undertaking
your obedience. If you have at least i6 Hit Dice, you
gain the agony's second boon as well. If you have 20
Hit Dice or more, you also gain the agony's third
boon. Unless a specific duration or number of uses
per day is listed, a boon's effects are constant.
If you ever fail to perform a daily obedience, or if
you are healed of damage, conditions, or penalties
caused in the course of performing your obedience,
you lose all access to resistances and boons granted
by this feat until you next perform the obedience.
underneath. Leave this patch of exposed nerves uncovered
by clothing or armor, allowing it to be exposed to the
elements and displaying your sacrifice to all you meet.
Take a-2 penalty on saving throws against disease, and take
1 extra point of damage per die from sneak attacks. Gain a
+4 bonus on saving throws against pain effects.
Boon 1: All attacks you make against a creature
suffering the effects of your agony strike deal 1d6 points
ofbleed damage.
Boon 2: Your knowledge of anatomy imparts to you an
awareness of others' vulnerabilities. You gain a +4 bonus
on attack rolls to confirm critical hits.
Boon 3: The frequent removal of skin and subsequent
healing has covered your body in thick scars. Your natural
armor bonus to AC increases by 2. Additionally, there is
a 25% chance that critical hits and sneak attacks fail to
affect you, as though you were wearing armor with the
li_ght fortification property.
Pain Taster (Prestige Class) Intelligence for 24 hours. The initial torture session for
For pain tasters, agony is more than a pleasure-it's a
path to power. Until recently, pain tasting was a practice
employed exclusively by the drow. However, in recent
decades Kuthite scholars have begun spreading details
about the practice through cult circles. Though on the
surface most pain tasters are followers of Zon-Kuthon,
that path is now beginning to crop up among other evil
and neutral cults as well.
C lass Deta i l s Hit Die: d10.
Req u i rements To become a pain taster, a character must fulfill all the
following criteria.
Feats: Diehard, Endurance, Great Fortitude.
Skills: Heal 5 ranks, Intimidate 5 ranks.
Alignment: Any nongood.
Special: The candidate must survive a special ritual
designed to inure her to pain.
C lass S ki l l s The pain taster's class skills are Disguise (Cha), Escape
Artist (Dex), Heal (Wis), Intimidate (Cha), Knowledge
(religion) (Int), Sense Motive (Wis), and Survival (Wis).
Skill Ranks at Each Level: 2 + Int modifier.
C lass Featu res The following abilities are class features of the pain taster
prestige class.
Weapon and Armor Proficiency: A pain taster is
proficient with all simple weapons, martial weapons, and
whips. A pain taster gains no armor or shield proficiencies.
Disciple of Pain (Su): At ist level, a pain taster can
focus her agony through the use of six torture routines.
Each routine grants her a different day-long benefit.
The first time a pain taster performs a particular torture
routine, she must spend i hour inflicting self-harm using
materials that cost 2,000 gp. The method of self-torture
is detailed in the routines below. After performing a
routine for the first time, she can subsequently perform
a less strenuous version of that routine to gain its
benefits for 24 hours without needing to expend any
further money on torture implements, ritual incense,
and pain heightening drugs.
If the pain taster wishes to change her routine, she
must spend 2,000 gp when first performing the new
ritual. She must pay this cost each time she changes her
routine, even if returning to a routine she had previously
paid for. A pain taster can benefit from only one routine
at a time.
Disciple of Acuity: By spending an hour reciting a lengthy
series of mantras while clutching a length of razor-edged
metal, the pain taster gains a +2 enhancement bonus to
46
this routine involves making dozens of arterial incisions
and writing the mantras in blood.
Disciple of Flexibility: By spending an hour painfully
hyper-extending each joint, the pain taster gains a +2
enhancement bonus to Dexterity for 24 hours. The initial
torture session for this routine involves tearing major
tendons in each limb.
Disciple of Insight: By spending an hour whipping or
bludgeoning herself while meditating on her failures and
regrets, a pain taster gains a +2 enhancement bonus to
Wisdom for 24 hours. The initial torture session for this
routine involves inserting a long needle directly into the
heart, causing massive internal hemorrhaging.
Disciple of Spirit: By spending an hour splitting her
tongue by cutting it centrally from the tip to the base, the
pain taster gains a +2 enhancement bonus to Charisma
for 24 hours. The initial torture session for this routine
involves applying acid to a normally visible part of the
body, inflicting extensive chemical burns.
Disciple of Torment: By spending an hour eating dirt,
rocks, and other indigestible matter, the pain taster gains
a +2 enhancement bonus to Constitution for 24 hours.
The initial torture session for this routine involves slicing
open the abdominal cavity with a blade, and then sewing
up the wound.
Disciple of Vigor. By spending an hour hanging by
the wrists from a tree, crossbeam, or any other support
structure, the pain taster gains a +2 enhancement bonus
to Strength for 24 hours. The initial torture session for
this routine involves breaking each rib by lying on the
ground, and then repeatedly dropping a large rock
directly on the ribcage.
Masochism (Ex): At ist level, a pain taster becomes
empowered by pain, and is inured to its effects. She
receives a +4 class bonus on saving throws made against
pain effects.
Additionally, a pain taster can deal lethal damage to
herself at any time to gain a bonus on attack and damage
rolls. Doing so is a swift action that deals 2 points of
damage to the pain taster, does not require an attack
roll, and bypasses any damage reduction the pain taster
possesses. For i round, the pain taster gains a +i morale
bonus on attack rolls and a +2 bonus on damage rolls.
Every 3 levels thereafter (4th, 7th, and 10th), the amount
of damage the pain taster deals to herself increases by
2 and the resulting bonus she receives on damage rolls
increase by i (to a maximum of 8 points of self-inflicted
damage and 5 points ofbonus damage to other targets at
ioth level). At 7th level, the bonus on attack rolls gained
when using this ability increases to +2.
Scourge (Ex): Pain tasters are masters of torture, and at
ist level they receive Weapon Focus (whip) as a bonus feat.
If the pain taster already has Weapon Focus (whip), she
instead receives Whip Masteryuc as a bonus feat.
Pail) Taster
Level BAB Fort Save Ref Save Wil l Save
1 st +1 +1 +O +O
2nd +2 +1 +1 +1
3 rd +3 +2 + 1 +1
4th +4 +2 +1 +1
5th +S +3 +2 +2
6th +6 +3 +2 +2
7th +7 +4 +2 +2
8th +8 +4 +3 +3
9th +9 +S +3 +3
1 0th +1 0 +S +3 +3
Cruelty (Ex) At md level, a pain taster gains
the sneak attack ability, but only when using
a whip. This additional damage stacks with
any sneak attack damage she possesses from
other classes. The amount of damage dealt by
cruelty increases by id6 every 2 pain taster
levels thereafter.
Damage Reduction (Ex) At md level,
the pain taster's incredible resilience
grants her a modest amount of
damage reduction (DR). Subtract
i point from the damage she is
dealt by any weapon or natural
attack. The pain taster's damage
reduction increases by i point every
2 pain taster levels thereafter. This
ability stacks with any other damage
reduction the pain taster might already
have from other classes. The value of this
damage resistance doubles when the pain
taster is subject to nonlethal damage.
Blood Control (Ex) At 3rd level, the
pain taster gains the ability to control
the blood pressure throughout her body.
Anytime the pain taster is dealt bleed
damage, she reduces the amount
of damage taken by i per pain
taster level (minimum o). When
taking Constitution damage as
a result of blood loss (such as a
stirge or a vampire's bite), a pain
taster reduces the amount of ability
damage dealt by an amount equal to half
the pain taster's class level (minimum o).
As an immediate action, a pain taster
can delay the onset of injury or contact
poisons by succeeding at a Will save. The
DC of this check is equal to the poison's
save DC. If the save is successful, the
poison's initial and secondary damage are
both delayed by i minute per pain
taster level.
47
"CCVLT MYSTERIES
Special
Disc i p l e of pa i n, masoch i sm 1 , scourge
C rue l ty +1 d 6, damage red uct ion 1/-
B lood contro l , tortu rer's mett le 1/day
C rue l ty +2d6, damage red uct ion 2/-, masoch i sm 2
Pa i n mastery
Crue l ty +3d6, damage red uct ion 3/-, tortu rer's mett le 2/day
Exq u is i te lash , masoch ism 3
C rue l ty +4d6, damage redu ct ion 4/-
Sad ism, tortu rer's mett le 3/day
C rue l ty +Sd6, damage redu ct ion 5/-, masoch i sm 4
Torturer's Mettle (Ex) At 3rd level, a pain taster
can gain a number of temporary hit points equal
to her pain taster level as a swift action. These
temporary hit points last for i minute. This
ability is a swift action that can be used once per
day at 3rd level and an additional time per day
every 3 levels thereafter (6th and 9th).
Pain Mastery (Ex) At 5th level, when using
her masochism ability, the pain taster
can combine two of her daily routines
into one. The pain taster must still self
inflict the combined amount of hit point
damage for both routines, though she can
perform both routines simultaneously
in 1 hour. When she does so, she gains
the benefits from both routines (a pair of
+2 enhancement bonuses). To gain access
to a second routine for the first time or
to change out one of the paired routines,
the pain taster must still perform the new
routine's initial torture session in full, and
must pay the cost for it.
Exquisite Lash (Ex) At 7th level, a pain
taster's aptitude with the whip increases. She
receives Whip Masteryuc as a bonus feat. If
the pain taster already has Whip Masteryuc,
she instead receives Improved Whip
Masteryuc as a bonus feat.
Sadism (Ex) At 9th level, a pain taster
becomes worked into a frenzy when
dealing damage to other targets. When
she deals bonus damage to a target
using her cruelty ability, she halves
the number of points of damage
she must self-inflict as part of her
masochism ability until the end
of her next turn.
Numerology cultures around the world. Every civilization that uses
Whereas most of divinatory traditions-such as augury,
extispicy, and astrology-rely on observation of the natural
world, numerology manipulates of numbers, ratios, and
equations. Through the use of mathematics, numerologists
are able to both presage events and augment magical effects.
Along with harrowing, numerology is one of only a few forms
of divination that rely exclusively on abstract systems, making
it more widely applicable than many other divinatory practices.
While numerology is not technically a magical practice, it
is a natural pursuit for curious arcanists, as the two practices
both rely on the user's knowledge of an esoteric "language"
to reveal powerful relationships, use combinations of
abstract symbols to focus the caster's abilities, and require
extensive amounts of dedicated practice and concentration.
However, numerology's focus on mathematics links it more
closely to alchemy, architecture, and engineering, making
it more accessible to craftspeople and scholars than the
study of spellcasting, which is often exclusive to magical
universities and religious organizations. There are two basic
forms of numerology: arithmancy and sacred geometry.
Arithmancy assumes that each linguistic unit has
inherent power-a view that arcane spellcasters have
held for millennia-and ascribes numerical values to
letters or words. For arithmancers, the unseen equations
embedded within language evoke hidden meanings that
other arcanists often miss. By essentially turning every word
and sentence into a mathematical equation, practitioners
can boil down names to single numbers that indicate the
hidden natures of the spells, creatures, or locations named.
Arithmancers often use this skill in a manner similar to
astrologers' use of horoscopes, to determine someone's
natural profession, her lucky numbers, or auspicious times
of year. Arithmancy is most widely associated with the Tian
and Draconic languages, though numerological studies of
Common are popular in many magical academies.
Sacred geometry holds that some shapes are more
auspicious than others, and ascribes cosmic meaning, hidden
information, and inherent power to certain geometric shapes
and ratios. Many of the shapes revered by sacred geometers
are the result of observation of the natural world: hexagons
grant abundance because of their inherent efficiency and
use in honeycombs, spheres and arches are associated with
strength because they can withstand more pressure than any
other shape, and logarithmic spirals (such as those found in
nautilus shells) are symbols of eternity because it maintains
the same shape at every point. Sacred geometry is used
extensively in architecture, construction, and spellcraft;
sacred geometers seek out and manipulate potent shapes
and ratios in order to design magically conductive temples,
pinpoint locations of power, and augment spellcasting.
Numerology on Golarion Unlike many occult practices, which are intrinsically
linked to a specific culture, numerology is common in
48
some form of engineering or architecture practices a
rudimentary form of numerology, but not all cultures
invest an equal amount of study into the subject. The
following are the three cultures that are most renowned
for their numerological prowess.
Cult of the Last Theorem: Located on the outskirts of
the ruined city ofTumen, the Cult of the Last Theorem
seeks the numerological mysteries of Ancient Osirion. The
cultists believe that the Pharaoh ofNumbers, one of the Four
Pharaohs of Ascension, understood sacred geometrical secrets
of unimaginable power. They believe that the numbers 56 and
11 hold deep spiritual significance, and are currently searching
for an artifact called the Aqualinth beneath the ruins ofTumen.
Dragons: While all dragons are commonly known to
have genius-level intellects, bronze and green dragons
are specifically gifted with numbers. Bronze dragons are
renowned for their banking prowess, while the hoards
of green dragons often contain tomes on the subjects of
numerology and mathematics.
Po Li: The former capital of the now-defunct empire
of Lung Wa, Po Li is now one of i6 successor states.
This Tian state is governed by the Oracular Council of
Po Li, which uses all manner of divinations, including
numerology, to make state decisions. The council's favored
divinatory method is the Path of Numbers, a form of energy
manipulation that relies on the translation of actions and
natural phenomena into numbers. For more information
on this method, see the Path of Numbers section on page 50.
Mathematical Spellcasting For many, mathematics and magic are worlds apart.
For numerologists, however, the two go hand in hand.
Mathematical spellcasters use their knowledge of
engineering and spellcraft to calculate how certain spells
and effects interact. Sacred Geometry gives casters the
ability to modify their spells with a variety of metamagic
effects that would normally be beyond their capabilities.
Arithmancy, meanwhile, allows casters to translate the
names of their spells into equations, enabling them to
increase the spells' efficacy.
Ari thmancy You are able to unravel the hidden meanings behind
words by translating them into numerical equations. You
can apply this insight to empower your magical effects.
Prerequisites: Int i3, Spell Focus (divination), Spellcraft
3 ranks.
Benefit: Immediately before casting a spell, as a swift
action, you can attempt to augment a spell's casting using
Arithmancy. To do so, determine the digital root of the
name of the spell you are casting.
To find the digital root of a spell name, first assign a
numerical value to each letter of the name, per the Letter
Values table. Once you have a string of digits, sum them.
Letter Values
Numerical Value Associated Letters
1 a, j, s
2 b, k, t
3 c, I, u
4 d, m, v
5 e, n, w
6 f, 0, x
7 g, p, y
8 h, q, z
9 i, r
If the result has more than one digit, sum those digits.
Repeat this process until you arrive at a single number,
called the digital root.
Once you've translated the name of the spell into a
single digital root, attempt a Spellcraft check with a DC
equal to 10 + the spell level + the digital root. If your check
succeeds, the spell is cast at +I caster level. If your check
fails, the spell is cast at -1 caster level. If you do not cast
the spell you intended to augment with arithmancy, the
spell is expended with no effect, though you retain the
action you would have spent to cast it. Metamagic effects
are not included in a spell's name when determining the
spell's digital root, but they increase the spell's level as
normal when determining the DC of the Spellcraft check.
You can use this ability a number of times per day
equal to the number of caster levels you possess.
For example, Ezren wants to use Arithmancy to cast an
augmented .fireball. First, he translates the spell name into
numbers. Fireball translates to 6, 9, 9, 5, 2, 1, 3, 3. Then he
calculates the digital root. In this case, 6 + 9 + 9 + 5 + 2 + 1 +
3 + 3 = 38, 3 + 8 = 11, and 1 + 1 = 2. Therefore, the digital root
of.fireball is 2. He then attempts a Spellcraft check against a
DC of 15 (10 + 3 [fireball's spell level] + 2 [fireball's digital root]).
If his check succeeds, he can cast the .fireball this round at
+1 caster level. If he fails, he can cast the spell at -1 caster
level this round. He may also choose not to cast.fireball and
perform another action, though he expends the spell.
Ca l cu l a t i ng M i n d You see potential in the world around you that nobody
else notices. Your numerological abilities are heightened
by this uncommon aptitude.
Prerequisites: Sacred Geometry, Knowledge (engineering)
5 ranks.
Benefit: Anytime you use the Sacred Geometry feat, you
can use d8s instead of d6s when rolling your dice pool.
You can use any combination of d6s and d8s that you
wish, as long as the number of dice does not exceed the
number of ranks you possess in Knowledge (engineering).
Sacred Geometry You can use your mathematical prowess to add metamagic
effects to your spells without using a higher-level spell slot.
49
"CCVLT MYSTERIES
Prime Ccmstaots
Effective Spel l Level Prime Constants
1 st 3, 5, 7
2nd 1 1 , 1 3, 17
3 rd 1 9, 23, 29
4th 3 1 , 37, 41
5th 43, 47, 53
6th 59, 61 , 67
7th 71, 73, 79
8th 83, 89, 97
9th 1 0 1 , 1 03, 1 07
Prerequisites: Int 13, Knowledge (engineering) 2 ranks
Benefit: When you take this feat, select two metamagic
feats you do not yet have. When casting a spell, you can
perform the steps below to spontaneously apply the effects
of either or both of these metamagic feats, as well as
any other metamagic feats you have, to the spell without
expending a higher-level spell slot. Using a feat in this
way increases the spell's casting time to the casting time
it would take if the character were a sorcerer or bard
(sorcerers and bards using this ability increase the spell's
casting time by two categories; see page 113 of the Core
Rulebook); applying the Quicken Spell metamagic effect
negates the increased casting time but still contributes
to the modified spell's effective spell level. You can take
this feat more than once; each time, select two additional
metamagic feats, adding their effects to the list of possible
effects you can apply to spells with this ability.
When casting a spell using Sacred Geometry, first
determine the effective spell level of the modified spell
you are attempting to cast (calculated as normal for a spell
modified by metamagic feats). You can apply any number
of metamagic effects to a single spell, provided you are able
to cast spells of the modified spell's effective spell level.
Refer to the Prime Constants table to determine the
prime constants that can be used to cast a spell of the
desired effective spell level. Then roll a number of d6s
equal to the number of ranks you possess in Knowledge
(engineering). Perform some combination of addition,
subtraction, multiplication, and division upon the
numbers rolled that gives rise to one of the relevant
prime constants. If you can produce one of the relevant
prime constants, the spell takes effect with the declared
metamagic effects, and you expend a spell slot of the
unaltered spell's level. If you are unsuccessful, you fail
to cast the spell, the action used to cast the spell is lost,
and the spell slot is used up. The DC of any concentration
check to cast a spell affected by this feat uses the effective
spell level used to determine the prime constants, even
though a successful casting of the spell does not expend
a higher-level spell slot.
For example, suppose Ezren wants to add the enlarged
and empowered effects to the ma9ic missile he just cast. He
adds the total level increases of the metamagic effects to the
spell level: 2 [empower] + 1 [enlarge] + 1 [manic missile's base
level] = 4, so the spell's effective level is 4. Ezren refers to
the Prime Constants table, and determines that the prime
constants for that effective spell level are 31, 37, and 41.
Since Ezren has 5 ranks in Knowledge (engineering), he
rolls 5d6. The results of his dice pool are 6, 6, 4, 3 and L
He then performs the following operations to give rise to
one of the prime constants he needs: ( 6 x 6) + (4 - 3) x 1 = 37.
Note that he could also combine the numbers as follows:
([6 + 6] x 3) + 4 + 1 = 41. He has produced one of the
prime constants for the desired effective spell level, so
his empowered enlarned manic missile takes effect after the
full-round casting time, and uses only a lSt-level spell slot.
If the result of Ezren's dice pool were 1, 1, 2, and 5, he
would have been unable to produce any of
the relevant prime constants. His attempt
would have been unsuccessful, and he
would have expended a full-round action
and his prepared lSt-level manic missile
spell with no effect.
Path of Numbers Few nations are so committed to
the practice of oracular
divination as Po
Li, in Tian Xia.
Po Li is among
the most powerful
of the 16 successor states
that arose after the fall of the
Lung Wa Empire. The nation
is governed by an oracular
theocracy, and many of Po Li's
administrative decisions are
made with the aid of divinatory
practices. The ruling Oracular
Council is made up of
numerous oracles, who are
trained from childhood in
the practice of divination.
The members of the
Oracular Council are
expert in several divinatory
systems, including the
Dragon Empires zodiac,
augury, oneiromancy,
and extispicy. The most
famous of these systems,
however, is the Path of
Numbers. The Path of
Numbers is a system of
numerology that describes
eight basic energies. Any
of these types of energy
can interact at any time,
50
producing 64 possible combinations. The Oracular Council
holds that those 64 combinations are sufficient to describe
the basis of every interaction in the cosmos. No matter
the plane, creature, or time in question, every event in the
multiverse is based on one of those 64 templates. In short,
the Path ofNumbers is a periodic table of energetic elements.
The following spells utilize the Path ofNumbers to create
magical effects. The chart on page 51 lists the eight basic
energies, along with effects employed by multiple spells.
CALCULATED LUCK
School d iv i nat ion; Level c ler ic 3, witch 4
Casting T ime 1 standa rd ac t ion
Components V, 5
Range persona l
Target you
Duration 1 round/leve l (D)
Saving Throw none; Spel l Resistance no
You a re able to use the Path of Numbers to substantia l l y boost
you r combat preparedness, but you r fores ight comes at a p rice.
Rol l 3d8 and refer to the Eight Basic Energies table on page 5 1 .
After ro l l i ng ,ass ign each d ie t o one o f t he fo l lowing .
Energy Type: You ga i n vu lne rab i l i ty to the energy type that
matches the d ie's resu l t for the d u rat ion of the spe l l . You
take ha l f aga i n as much damage (+50%) from that energy
type, regard l ess of whether you successfu l l y saved aga i nst
the damag ing spel l o r effect.
Magic School: For the spel l 's du rat ion, you cast al l spel ls from
the school that matches the d ie's resu l t at + 1 caster leve l .
dlO Roll Type: You receive a +2 l u ck bonus on the d20 ro l l
that matches t h e d ie's resu l t f o r t h e d u ra t ion o f t h e spe l l .
CLEROMANCY
School d iv i nat ion; Level c le r i c 2, d r u i d 3, i n q u i s i to r 3,
so rcerer/wiza rd 3
Casting T ime f u l l - round ac t ion
Components V, 5, F/DF (a set of 64 ch i cken bones)
Range persona l
Target you
Duration 1 round/caster l eve l
Saving Throw none; Spel l Resistance no
C/eromoncy i nvo lves cast i ng bones and i nterpreti ng t he
resu l t s . Those ab l e t o a rr ive at the proper i nterpretat ion a re
g ra nted knowledge of com ing events. Ro l l 1 d 4 per caster
leve l . Group the d i ce by l i ke resu l ts, and choose one of the
g roups . For the du rat ion of c!eromoncy, you can apply a l u ck
bonus equa l to the resu l t of the se lected d ice to any d20 ro l l .
You c a n a p p l y t h i s b o n u s t o a n umbe r o f ro l l s e q u a l t o the
number of d i ce i n the group . I f c/eromoncy exp i res before you
a re ab l e to a l l ocate the total n umber of a l l otted bonuses, the
rema in i ng bonuses a re lost .
LUCKY NUMBER
School transmutation; Level bard 1 , c ler ic 1 , dru id 1 , i nqu is itor 1 ,
pa lad in 1 , sorcerer/wizard 1 , summoner 1 , witch 1
Cast ing Time 1 sta nda rd ac t ion
Components V, S
Range touch
Target one w i l l i n g crea tu re
Duration 24 hou rs or un t i l d i s cha rged
Saving Throw none; Spel l Resistance no
You a re ab l e to tweak t i ny va r iab les affect ing a creatu re's
immed iate future in order to g rant the target a bit of l u ck at
the r ight t ime . Ro l l a d20; once du r i ng the d u rat ion of lucky
number, when the target creature ro l l s that resu l t (regard l ess
of what type of dice the target rol ls), the creature has the
opt ion to e i ther rero l l the resu l t o r add a +2 l uck bonus to the
resu l t . The creature must dec ide to use th i s ab i l i ty before the
success o r fa i l u re of the or ig ina l ro l l is known. A creature can
have on ly one l u cky number at a t ime . I f lucky number i s cast
on a creature a l ready affected by that spe l l , the new number
rep la ces the p revious one .
MATHEMATICAL CURSE
School necromancy [cu rse]; Level ant ipa l a d i n 2, ba rd 2,
c l e r i c 3, so rcerer/wizard 2, witch 2
Cast ing T ime 1 standa rd ac t ion
Components V, S, M/DF (a fu l l set of 10 fi nge rna i l s)
Range touch
Target one l iv ing creat u re
Duration see text
Saving Throw Wi l l negates; Spell Resistance yes
U s i ng the Path of N u m bers, you a re a b l e to i n f l uence the
seem i ng l y ra ndom e l ements i n t he env i ro nment a round
a creatu re, red u c i n g tha t c reatu re's effi cacy. Ro l l 3 d8 a n d
c h oo s e one of t he d i ce-th i s d i e's resu l t i s t he pena l ty
mathematical curse i m p a rts . Next, choose e i ther of the
two rema i n i n g d i ce; t he d20 ro l l cor respond i n g to that
resu l t o n t he E ight Bas i c Ene rg ies tab le i s t he ro l l t he s pe l l 's
pena l ty a p p l i e s to . The resu l t of t he fi n a l d i e represents t he
n umbe r of ro unds tha t mathematical curse l a s t s . A c reature
can be under t he i n f l u ence of on ly one mathematical
curse at a t ime . If mathematical curse is cast on a c reature
a l ready affected by tha t spe l l , t he new c u rse re p l a ces the
prev i ous one .
NUMEROLOGICAL EVOCATION
School evocat ion; Level magus 3, sorcerer/wiza rd 3, witch 4
Cast ing T ime 1 standa rd ac t ion
Components v, S
Range see text
Ta rget see text
Duration i n s tantaneous
Saving Throw Ref lex ha l f; Spel l Resistance yes
You can use the Path of Numbers to ca l cu l ate the latent
mag i ca l energ ies al l a round you and fi re custom ized rays of
e lementa l energy that damage nearby targets. Rol l 1 d 6 per
2 caster levels you possess. This i s you r d i ce poo l . You w i l l use
each die i n the pool exactly once to custom ize numerological
evocation. Choose a number of d i ce in the pool , and match
5 1
"CCVLT MYSTERIES
EigJ,t Basic E»ergies Energy
ds Type Magic School d20 Rol l Type
A i r Enchantment Wi l l save
2 E l ect r i c i ty I l l us i on Re f l ex save
3 F i re Necromancy Attack ro l l
4 Son i c Evocat ion I n i t iat ive ro l l
5 Ac id Abj u rat ion For t i tude save
6 Wate r Tra nsmutat ion Cas te r leve l check
7 Co ld D iv ina t ion Concentrat ion check
8 Ear th Conj u rat ion Combat Maneuver Check
the i r resu l ts to the va l ues i n the f i r s t co l umn of the E i ght Bas ic
Energ ies tab le to determine the types of energy damage
the spe l l dea ls . You can a l l ocate any number of d i ce i n th i s
manner, p rovided you sti l l have enough d ice rema in i ng for
the subsequent steps .
Next, a l l ocate one of the d i ce to represent the tota l
n u m ber of t a rge t creatures you can affect, i n c l ud i ng the
i n i t i a l target . No matter how many c reatures you a re
e l i g i b l e to affect, no two affected creatures can be mo re
than 1 5 feet apa rt . Next, a l l ocate any n umber of the d i ce to
represent the range of numerological resistance. The range
of the spe l l i s 10 x the s um of the a l l ocated d i ce. F i n a l l y,
add u p the resu l t s of the d i ce rema i n i n g i n the poo l . Th i s i s
the amount of damage that numerological evocation dea ls
to the f i r s t crea tu re h i t . A successfu l Ref lex save ha l ves th i s
damage . Seconda ry ta rgets take 50% of the damage dea l t
to the f i r s t creat u re h i t (rounded u p), and success fu l Ref lex
saves negate th is damage .
NUMEROLOGICAL RESISTANCE
School a bj u rat ion; Level c ler ic 3, so rcerer/wizard 3
Cast ing T ime 1 standa rd ac t ion
Components V, S
Range c lose (25 ft . + 5 ft ./2 leve ls)
Target see text
Duration see text
Saving Throw none; Spell Resistance no
Numerological resistance a l lows nume ro l og ists to use the
Path of N u m bers to g ran t t he i r a l l i es res i l i ence i n the face
of e l ementa l dange rs . Ro l l 5d8; th is i s you r d i ce pool . You
w i l l use each d i e i n the poo l exact ly once to customize
numerological resistance.
Choose one of the d i ce, and match its resu l t to the
appropriate va l ue in the f i rst co l umn of the E ight Bas ic Energ ies
tab le to determine the type of energy to wh ich numerological
resistance g rants resista nce. Next, a l l ocate one of the d i ce
to represent the number of creatu res you can affect with
numerological resistance ( inc l ud i ng yourse l f) . A l l of these
creatu res must be wi th in the spe l l 's ra nge . Then a l l ocate one
of the d i ce to represent the number of rounds numerological
resistance l a sts . F i na l ly, sum the rema in i ng two d ice. Th i s
i s the number of po ints of resista nce that numerological
resistance g rants .
Spiritualism troubled by the restless spirits of recently deceased, who-
Not all who seek to pierce the veil of death are foul
necromancers. Instead, there are those who proceed with
respect and caution. The practice of attempting to establish
such benign communication is known as spiritualism.
Spiritualists rely on unquiet souls and minor haunts to
establish communication with spirits, and those mortals
who act as conduits between worlds are called mediums.
Most keep a cautious distance from the higher orders of
dangerous and unpredictable spectral undead such as
ghosts and wraiths. Instead, they seek out lower stations of
localized spiritual entities, such as poltergeists and haunts,
in order to act as liaisons for the unquiet spirits . .
Most talented mediums are oracles, though some
experts without magical ability specialize in seeking out
and communicating with rapping spirits and possessive
dead (see page 54). They find their talents well compensated
by bereaved mourners seeking solace from a loved one's
lingering spirit. These profitable practices also attract all
manner of fakes, who resort to the cover of dark seances
and deceptive ventriloquism to fool grieving families.
The process of spirit communication is a difficult
affair, and only the most powerful mediums are capable of
summoning the spirits of specific individuals directly to their
location. Others must seek out haunts in the places where
they reside in order
to establish a direct
rapport. Mediums
often aid those
lacking the truly tragic circumstances necessary for them to
manifest as ghosts, but still experiencing some unresolved
conflict-linger in the mortal world as haunts. Once
mediums have overcome the effects of such haunts, they
can proceed with communication.
A wide variety of entities are capable of communication.
Neutralized haunts (those reduced to o hp) of all types
might revert to rapping spirits or possessive dead (see
page 54) during their reset periods. Likewise, destroyed
spectral dead such as ghosts and poltergeists can assume
this same state during rejuvenating periods, and can attempt
to convey their needs to the living. While still potentially
malevolent, these entities can often communicate via simple
codes (such as one rap for "yes" and two for "no") or by the
medium calling out words, numbers, and letters for rapped
selection by the spirits. Such messages can be formed at
the rate of ld10 words for each minute in which a character
succeeds at a Linguistics check, with a DC equal to 15 + the
original haunt's CR. Mediums channeling possessive dead,
on the other hand, typically whisper messages, or write
at the haunt's suggestion-both at the same rate when
unaided by tools of their trade. In either case, spirits are
often unreliable, always cryptic, and never able to convey
knowledge beyond what they knew in life.
To facilitate communication, mediums use spells
such as calm spirit (see page 55), indulge in diplomacy,
and create comforting environments such as dark seance
cabinets. Some mediums carry flat, lettered boards known
as "talking boards," cone-shaped spirit trumpets,
or writing planchettes-small boards that can
be written on with chalk or charcoal pencils.
While these are mundane versions of magical
trumpets of spirit speakin.!J (see page 55) and
spirit planchettes (Pathfinder Adventure Path
#43: The Hauntin.!J of Harrowstone 19)
with no inherent power of their own,
in the hands of those with properly
e stablished rapports, these tools
increase the efficiency of messages
received to 3d6 words per minute of
communication, and grant the user a +4
bonus on Linguistics checks to decipher the cryptic
messages ofhaunts.
Spiritualism on Golarion Many cultures on Golarion engage in
spiritualism, with varying degrees of
reverence. Seances are popular parlor
entertainment in the more cosmopolitan
parts of Ustalav, particularly among adherents
of the Esoteric Order of the Palatine Eye, where
members are encouraged to meticulously record spirit
communications in the event that seance sitters tap
into some miraculous reservoir ofhidden knowledge.
Ancestor worship is another form of spiritualism
on Golarion, with some cultures communing with the
lingering haunts of their forebears, who they believe
persist on the mortal plane to protect their descendants.
The Shoanti, for example, engaged in totemistic rituals
meant to anchor these spiritual protections to them. Far
to the east, Tians who prize family and genealogy practice
a similar form of ancestor worship wherein descendants
venerate departed souls and attune themselves to the quiet
guidance of protective spirits while taking measures to
guard themselves from the vengeance of wrathful entities.
The Mwangi Expanse holds all manner of mysteries, but
few draw the awe and interest of outsiders so much as the
mysteries of juju. This unique form of communication with
the spirit realms (known to them as the hana juju) developed
after centuries of supplication to spiritual entities called
wendo, who through generations of homage have been
elevated beyond mere haunts to assume greater importance
to the juju shamans. The wendo represent archetypal spirits
of various aspects of Mwangi life, such as Adamde Baaka
who embodies nature and the jungle, and Old Ba, who
embodies folklore and ancient wisdom.
New Oracle Mystery Many natural mediums and others gifted in the spiritual
arts are oracles, most of whom possess the occult mystery.
Occ u l t You have an innate connection to the spirits of the dead.
Deities: Magdh, Nethys, Pharasma, Tsukiyo.
Class Skills: An oracle with the occult mystery adds Bluff,
Disguise, Knowledge (arcana), and Use Magic Device to her
list of class skills.
Bonus Spells: Unseen servant (2nd), spectral hand (4th),
clairaudience/clairvoyance (6th), scryin.!J (8th), contact other plane
(10th), project ima9e (12th), vision (14th), moment of prescience
(16th), astral projection (18th).
Revelations: An oracle with the occult mystery can choose
from any of the following revelations.
Automatic Writin.!J (Su): Once per day, you can spend a full
hour in uninterrupted meditation. During this period,
your hands produce mysterious writing that pertains to the
future. At 1st level, the prophetic writing manifests as an
au9wy spell with 90% effectiveness. At 5th level, the writing
takes the form of a divination spell with 90% effectiveness.
At 8th level, the writing manifests as a casting of commune
with no material component required.
Brain Drain (Su): You can take a standard action to violently
probe the mind of a single intelligent enemy within 100
feet. The target receives a Will save to negate the effect and
immediately knows the source of this harmful mental prying.
Those who fail this save are wracked with pain, and take
1d4 points of damage per oracle level you possess. After
successfully attacking with this ability, you can use a full
round action to sort through the jumble of stolen thoughts
53
"CCVLT MYSTERIES
and memories and then attempt a single Knowledge check
using the victim's skill bonus. The randomly stolen thoughts
remain in your mind for a number of rounds equal to your •
Charisma modifier. Treat the knowledge gained as if you had
used detect thou9hts. This is a mind-affecting effect. You can
use this ability once per day at 1st level, plus 1 use per day at
5th level, and 1 use for every 5 levels beyond 5th.
Ectoplasmic Armor (Su): You can conjure armor made of
ectoplasm that grants you a +4 armor bonus to AC. In
addition, this armor functions as if it had the 9host touch
special ability. At 7th level and every 4 levels thereafter, the
armor bonus increases by 2. You can use this armor for
1 hour per day per oracle level. This duration does not need
to be consecutive, but it must be spent in 1-hour increments.
Phantom Touch (Su): As a standard action, you can perform
a melee touch attack that causes a living creature to become
shaken. This ability lasts for a number of rounds equal to
1/2 your oracle level (minimum 1 round). You can use this
ability a number of times per day equal to 3 + your Charisma
modifier. At 5th level, the target instead becomes frightened,
and at 7th level, the target becomes panicked.
Project Psyche (Su): You can proj ect your psyche into
another vessel. Once per day, you can possess another
creature as if using the ma9ic jar spell, though this does
not require a receptacle. You must be adjacent to the target
creature, which receives a Will save against the effect. You
must be at least nth level to choose this revelation.
Shroud ef Retribution (Su): As an immediate action, you
can summon a shroud of spirits that reflects your attackers'
damage back onto them. Any creature that strikes you deals
normal damage to you, but at the same time the attacker
takes 1d8 points of force damage + 1 point per 2 caster levels
you possess (maximum +10). This effect lasts until the end
of your next turn. You can use this ability once per day, plus
one additional time per day at nth level and every 4 levels
thereafter. You must be at least 7fu level to select this revelation.
Spectral Spells (Su): You gain Ectoplasmic SpellAPG as a
bonus feat. In addition, once per day, you can cast a spell
with the Ectoplasmic Spell metamagic feat as a standard
action that does not increase the level of the spell. You can
use this ability one additional time per day at 7th level and
every 4 levels thereafter.
Spirit Walk (Su): You can become incorporeal and
invisible. While in this form, you can move in any direction
and pass through solid objects. You can take no actions
other than to move while in this form. You can remain
in this form for a number of rounds equal to your oracle
level, but you can end this effect prematurely as a standard
action. You can use this ability once per day at nth level
and twice per day at 15th level. You must be at least nth
level to select this revelation.
Sure Soul (Su): Because of your experience with possessing
spirits, you gain a +2 insight bonus on saving throws against
possession effects such as ma9icjar, a ghost's malevolence
ability, or domination effects. At 7th level, this bonus also
applies against death effects and mind-affecting effects. At
nth level, the bonus increases to +4.
Voice of the Grave (Su): You can use speak with dead, as the
spell, for a number of rounds per day equal to your oracle
level. These rounds do not need to be consecutive. At 5th
level and every 5 levels thereafter, the dead creature takes a
cumulative -2 penalty on its Will save to resist this effect.
Final Revelation: Upon reaching 20th level, you become
one with the spirits. You become immune to death effects,
exhaustion, fatigue, nausea, negative levels, and the sickened
condition. You can cast astral projection and true seein.fJ once
per day as spell-like abilities without requiring material
components. Should you die, you rise again 2d4 days later
as a ghost.
Tools of Spiritualism Spiritualists with both natural talents in the art and who
pick it up by choice often employ the following spells and
magic items when practicing their craft. Additionally,
they use common, nonthreatening haunts as methods of
reaching across to the other side.
H a u nts While most haunts are malevolent in nature, some are more
benign and serve as a means to communicate with spirits.
The most common of these haunts are rapping spirits:
unquiet dead with just enough substance to produce
cacophonous knocking and loud bumps in the night.
Adventurers can attempt communication with these
intelligent spirits by working out codes to form cryptic
messages at the rate of id10 words per minute with a
successful Linguistics check (see page 52).
RAPPING SPIRIT CR 1
XP 400
A l i g nment var ies pers i stent h aunt (5-ft . rad i u s)
Caster Level 1 st
Notice Percept ion DC 1 0 (to hea r fa i n t knock ings on wa l l s,
f loor, a nd fu rn i t u re)
hp 4; Weakness t r i cked by hide from undeod; Trigger
p rox im i ty; Reset 1 day
EFFECT
When th i s h aunt is t r i ggered, a cho rus of ag itated raps and
b l ows r i ngs out f r om nea rby ha rd su rfaces (those capab le
of p hysica l man i p u la t ions, as moge hand) as u nq u iet
sp i r i ts co nvey the i r u n rest to the l i v i ng . Al l who hear the
supernatu ra l knocks a re affected by cause fear (save DC 1 1 ) .
DESTRUCTION
Rapp i ng sp i r i ts typ ica l l y ask for the i r mor ta l rema i n s to be
l a i d to rest or for the PCs to seek revenge for t he i r deaths .
F u l fi l l i ng these req uests d i sm isses the h a unts .
Instances of so-called direct-voice channeling, automatic
writing, and talking board communications are often the
result of haunts known as the possessive dead: haunts
54
capable of influencing the thoughts and actions of those
in the mortal realms to communicate their anger, desires,
or goals as they seek eternal rest.
POSSESSIVE DEAD CR 3
XP 800
A l i gn ment var ies pers i stent h aunt ( 1 5 -ft . rad i u s)
Caster Level 1 st
Notice Percept ion DC 1 5 (to hea r fa i n t m utte r i ngs a nd fee l
coo l breezes)
hp 1 3; Weakness t r i cked by hide from undead; Trigger
p rox im i ty; Reset 1 day
EFFECT
When t r i ggered, th i s h aunt seeks to i nf l uence the ac t ions
of t he l i v i ng , ta rget i ng a v i c t im w i th suggestion (save
DC 1 4) . Depend ing on the hau nt 's a l i g nment, the suggested
act ions m igh t be ma l i c i ous, s ubt ly put t i ng the i r v i c t ims in
ha rm's way o r sowing antagon i s t i c i nteract io ns, o r ben i gn,
wi th the h a unt p rompt i ng myste r i ous a utomat ic wr i t i ngs
o r u nconsc ious uttera nces from the possessed i n hopes of
commun i cat ing i ts des i res wi th the wor ld of the l i v i ng .
DESTRUCTION
Possess ive dead typ i ca l l y seek rest for t h e i r mo r ta l rema i n s
o r reso l u t i on to un f u l fi l l e d de s i res i n l i fe . F u l fi l l i n g these
requests d i sm isses t he h a u nts .
New S p e l l s The following spells are uncommon among the general
population on Golarion, but in spiritualist cults and
ancestor-worshiping cultures, they are relatively common.
CALL SPIRIT
School conj u rat ion (ca l l i ng); Level c le r i c 5
Casting T ime 1 0 m i n utes
Components V, 5
Range 1 0 ft .
Effect ca l l t he sp i r i t of a s i ng l e deceased humano i d crea tu re
Duration concentrat i on
Saving Throw Wi l l negates, see text; Spe l l Resistance no
You attempt to cause the sp i r i t of a spec i f i c i nd i v i dua l to
man i fest from i ts fi n a l rest i ng p l ace . You m ust request the
sp i r i t 's p resence by spea k ing i t s name .
Unwi l l i n g sp i r i ts can res ist the summons by succeed i ng
at a W i l l save. I f the chosen sp i r i t res ists you r c a l l , a nother
sp i r i t w i th ma levo len t i ntent a l most a lways takes i ts p l a ce,
i n tent on dece iv i ng you. The d i ffi cu l ty of the save depends
on how we l l you know the s ubject a nd what sort of phys ica l
connect ion ( i f a ny) you have to the creat u re you wish to ca l l .
Knowledge Will Save Modifier
Name on l y"' +1 5
Secondhand (you have hea rd of the s ubj ect) +1 0
F i rs thand (you met the s ubject in l i fe) +5
Fam i l i a r (you knew the s ubject we l l ) +O
·· You must have at least a name t he creature was ca l led in l ife.
Connection Will Save Modifier
L i keness o r p i c tu re -2
Possess ion or g a rment -4
Body pa rt, l ock of h a i r, n a i l c l i p p i ng, etc . -1 0
D i fferent a l i g nment +4
A successfu l l y c a l l ed sp i r i t man i fests as a w ispy, vaporous
form that vague ly resem b les the form the deceased creat u re
wore d u r i n g l i fe . The sp i r i t has the phys i ca l a t t r ibutes
of a n unseen servant and i s capab le of m i no r phys i ca l
man i pu la t ions, with the ab i l i ty to speak i n q u i et, g host ly
wh ispers i n whatever l anguages the creature knew whi le st i l l
a l ive. The sp i r i t i s n o t a n undead creatu re, and is no t beho lden
to i ts c a l l er . Whether you summoned the chosen sp i r i t o r a
dece i t fu l rep l a cement, the sp i r i t can refuse to a nswer your
q uest ions o r attempt to dece ive you us i ng B l u ff, though in
e i the r case these sp i r i ts can speak abou t on l y what they
knew i n l i fe and have no knowledge of events that occu rred
after t he i r deaths. Ma levo len t sp i r i ts m igh t t ake advantage
of t he i r l im i ted phys i ca l a b i l i t ies to cause po l terge ist- l i ke
outbu rsts des igned to terror ize the caster .
You must concent rate on ma i n ta i n i n g the spe l l (a
sta nda rd ac t i on) i n o rde r to ask q u es t i ons at the rate of
one pe r ro u n d . You can a sk one q uest ion pe r caster leve l ,
wh ich t he sp i r i t a n swers d u r i n g t he same ro u n d . When
the s pe l l ends, t he sp i r i t 's ectop l a sm i c fo rm f ade s a n d the
sou l retu rns to i t s r e s t . T h i s s pe l l c anno t c a l l t he sp i r i t s o f
c reatures who a re cu r rent ly undead .
CALM SPI RIT
School nec romancy; Level c ler ic 2
Cast ing T ime 1 standa rd ac t ion
Components v, S
Range c lose (25 ft . + 5 ft ./2 leve ls)
Target one i n co rpo rea l undead creat u re or h aunt
Duration 1 m i n ute or 1 round/ l evel , see text
Saving Throw Wi l l negates o r none, see text;
Spell Resistance yes
This spe l l tempora r i l y ca lms ag itated h a unts and i n co rpo rea l
u ndead such as g h osts a nd po l terge ists . You have no contro l
over the affected creatu res, but calm spirit postpones
host i l e act ion by the affected sp i r i ts for the d u ra t ion of
the spe l l . Ent i t ies so affected cannot take v io len t ac t ions
o r do a nyth ing dest ruct ive, i n c l u d i ng t r i gger ing pers istent
haunt a b i l i t i es, t hough they can defend themse lves . Any
agg ress ive act ion aga i nst o r damage dealt to a ca lmed sp i r i t
o r h a unt immed iate ly ends the effect .
H aunts do not receive a saving th row aga i nst the spe l l ,
bu t the cas te r must succeed at a cas te r l eve l check equa l to
at least 10 + the hau nt 's CR i n order to tempora r i l y ca lm the
ang ry ent i ty. The spe l l 's d u rat ion dec reases to concentrat ion
(u p to 1 rou nd/ leve l ), when affect i ng a h aunt .
Magic I tems Practitioners of spiritualism often use these magic items
to facilitate their communication with spirits.
55
"CCVLT MYSTERIES
PRICE 5,500 GP
WEIGHT 1 l b.
AURA moderate necromancy
G ra ve c a n d l es a re m a g i c a l c a n d l e s
t ha t d raw fo r th s p i r i t s f rom t h e mo r t a l
r e m a i n s o f l o n g - d e a d c r e a t u re s ,
a l l ow i n g t h e l i v i n g to s peak to t he se
s p i r i t s f o r a s h o r t pe r i o d w h i l e t he
cand l e's w i c k bu rns . I n o r de r t o f u nc t ion,
a gra ve candle mus t be p l a ced a m i d t h e phys i c a l re m a i n s
of t he b o d y w h o s e s p i r i t t he u se r w i s h e s to contac t . These
rem a i n s c an be pa r t i a l , o r even j u s t a h a n d f u l of a s h o r
g rave d u st, b u t a tota l l y de st royed body (a s res u l t s f rom
destruction o r disin tegrate) doesn ' t l eave enough mate r i a l
fo r a grave candle to f u n c t i o n . When t h e c and l e i s l i t, t h e
smoke r i s i n g f r om t he c a n d l e g rows t h i c k, a n d a g hos t l y
shape s im i l a r to the creatu re's a ppea rance i n l i fe man i fests
in the smoke .
At t h i s po i nt , t he m a n i fested sp i r i t (wh i c h i s a s much
a n echo of t he crea t u re as i t i s t he a c t ua l depa rted sou l )
c an speak . A grave candle does not i m pa rt any add i t i o na l
u n de rsta n d i n g of l a n g uages to i t s u se r. I n o the r respects,
the conversat i on with the dead sp i r i t a d he res to the r u l e s
fo r speak with dead, s ave that t he dead sp i r i t t akes a -4
pena l ty on i t s sav i ng t h row to res ist the s pe l l . F u r the rmore,
a dead body c a n be s u bj ected to t he effects of a grave
candle on ly once-the bu r n i ng of a grave candle effect ive ly
bu r n s ou t the l a tent nec roman t i c and sp i r i t u a l ene rgy le f t
b eh i n d by the sou l 's depa r t u re f rom the wor l d (th i s does
not harm the actua l sou l of t he dead sp i r i t, h owever) a n d
des t roys t he c and l e .
CONSTRUCTION REQUIREMENTS COST 2,750 GP
Craft Wond rous I tem, speak with dead
SLOT none CL 6th
PRICE 6, 500
WEIGHT 1 l b.
AURA moderate necromancy
Th i s l o ng , segmented cone i s
made of a l i g htwe i gh t meta l and
co l l a pses i n to t h ree sec t i ons .
A l though nonmag i c a l s p i r i t
t r um pets a re most often used
by f ra u d u l ent med iums and
man i p u la ted w i th s l e i gh t of hand a n d vent r i l o q u i sm, a
trumpet of spirit speaking a l l ows ac tua l com m u n i ca t i on
w i th t he sp i r i t s of t he deceased . Once pe r day, when i t s
mou t hp i ece i s p l a ced to t he l i ps of a most ly i ntac t corpse,
the user can ask u p to t h ree q u es t i ons of the dead creatu re,
as i f the corpse were s u bject to a speak with dead spe l l .
T h e corpse's rep l i es t o t h e q uest ions i s sue fo r th f rom the
ho rn i n q u iet , g h ost ly wh i spe rs .
CONSTRUCTION REQUIREMENTS COST 3,250 GP
Craft Wond rous I tem, speak with dead
f� rom the earliest days of civilization, hidden
societies and secret cults have shared their
teachings through mysterious writings on
den topics. Countless volumes explore such taboo
subjects, though many are lost and known only through
rumor and legend. In some cases, a newly discovered
tome of ancient knowledge has resurrected a long-dead
movement in the practice of dark magical arts.
This chapter details six such volumes, giving a history
of each book, presenting a breakdown of its contents, and
identifying those who can use it. In many cases, reading
or studying these books provides the researcher with
insights and abilities, which make these tomes prized
possessions and add to their mystery.
In addition to or in place of her own spellbook, a
spellcaster can use a copy of any of these occult writings
when preparing spells. Some spells gain additional
benefits when prepared using these mysterious texts;
these benefits are detailed in their respective entries
though the benefits are not transferred along with the
base spells should a spellcaster copy them to her own
spellbook. A spell prepared from a given occult text
can benefit from a maximum of one metamagic effect,
including any free effects granted by the book itself.
The monetary values of these volumes are intrinsically
tied to their power, and those with magical abilities or
transcribed spells are treated as wondrous items or as
spellbooks to determine their value. Their prices tend to
be high in comparison to those of nonmagical writings
on similar subjects, which both reflects and drives their
rarity and the occult status of the information contained
within their covers. In some cases, sections of books are
priced individually to account for incomplete volumes.
While some of the books are more common than others,
all are rare enough that finding a copy is often its own
quest or the seed of a new adventure.
Those occult volumes that are minor artifacts can be
destroyed by redacting all of their contents with the pen
that originally wrote the words, using the blood of the
book's original author as ink.
Otl)er Occult Writings In addition to the six volumes detailed in this chapter,
the Pathfinder campaign setting features a number of
other occult texts, which are described elsewhere or left
up to individual GMs to flesh out as their needs and
inspirations dictate. Among these additional works are
the following.
Azlanti Neris: This ancient tome describes three pre
Azlanti cities that imprisoned Great Old Ones.
Book of the Damned: This multivolume text catalogs
the evil Outer Planes and the outsiders who inhabit them.
The contents are thoroughly explored in the Pathfinder
Campaign Setting books Princes of Darkness, Lords of Chaos,
and Horsemen of the Apocalypse.
57
"CCVLT MYSTERIES
Book of Serpents, Ash, and Acorns-Shadows of What
Was and Will Be: This volume provides information
concerning travel to the mysterious Dimension ofTime.
Chronicle of the Cantorian Spring: A tome with
wooden covers and blank parchment that, when watered
and cared for, grows into a plant with leaves covered in
ancient elven inscriptions. The writing on the leaves seems
to tell a tale about forests and bodies of water on stars.
Chronicle of the Righteous: Similar in scope to the
Book ef the Damned, this volume catalogs the ranks of the
celestials who inhabit Elysium, Heaven, and Nirvana, and
the Empyreal Lords who reign supreme there. This book
is featured in the Pathfinder Campaign Setting volume of
the same name.
Emerald Codex of the Therassic Order: This collection
of spells and rituals devoted to the Thassilonian deity
known as the Peacock Spirit was penned by the Therassic
Order, a group of devotees to the Peacock Spirit.
The King in Yellow: This arcane text is associated with
the Old Cults, and particularly the Great Old One, Hastur.
Lacuna Codex: A tome of immensely powerful spells
that the lost kings of Ustalav used in their war against
the Whispering Tyrant, this book features prominently in
the Pathfinder Tales novel Prince of Wolves by Dave Gross.
Necronomicon: This is perhaps the most notorious text
associated with the Old Cults.
On Verified Madness: An ancient, jet-black tome
discussing the Dark Tapestry this is a work of starry
observations and occult lore.
Pnakotic Manuscripts: A foul book containing
information and prophecies related to the Outer Gods
and the Great Old Ones, this tome is sacred to the Old
Cults and also valuable to those who oppose them.
Preklikin's Book of Cults: This arcane tome describes the
Old Cults and the Great Old Ones. Statistics for this book
can be found in Pathfinder Campa(gn Settin.1r Inner Sea Gods.
Religious Texts: While holy and unholy texts dedicated
to the faiths of deities prominent on Golarion are not
necessarily difficult to find, some are banned in regions
where worship of the associated deity is forbidden. In
such cases, cults of these gods hide away the texts detailing
their faiths, and such books might be significantly more
expensive and harder to acquire than normal.
Sarkorian Prophecy: This series of prophecies inscribed
by a Sarkorian oracle was thought to be lost after the
Worldwound opened, but it has recently been recovered
by the Pathfinder Society. For more information on these
writings, see PatYifinder Society Scenario #z-08: The Sarkorian
Prophecy.
Sarkoris Shards: These rune-carved crystal shards
from Sarkoris tell of witch-cults and cannibalism, and are
generally associated with the Old Cults.
Xanthuun Tablets: This tome is associated with the Old
Cults, and purports to reveal secrets about primordial
forces and the creation of the world.
Ale]) Almalifoum Otherwise known as the Book of the Dead, Aleh Almaktoum
is the definitive ancient Osirian necromantic treatise
and spellbook. Although a grasp of theology aids in
understanding the mysteries detailed in this series of
papyrus scrolls, they speak primarily of arcane matters.
Many would-be scholars attribute the book's authorship
to the infamous necromancer Geb, but credible
Osirionologists maintain that he merely collected a much
older set of documents. The collection spans 20 to 24
different scrolls, and is typically stored in a small wooden
chest. The book is usually divided into four sections.
Chapters 1-5: These chapters relate to the preparation
of the dead for burial. They also detail a divine rite that can
protect the soul from attacks by daemons, night hags, and
other soul-feasting fiends as it journeys along the River of
Souls and awaits judgment in the Boneyard. This ritual
requires the ability to cast at least one 3rd-level necromancy
spell (or success at a DC 20 Use Magic Device check), takes
8 hours, and uses up 1,000 gp in spell components. The
ritual imbues one corpse with the benefits of a permanent
sancti.fY corpseuM spell and protects the corpse's soul from
harm until it is judged by Pharasma.
This section of Aleh Almaktoum also contains the
following spells: 3rd-3entle repose (affected by Extend Spell
when prepared from this source); ist-decompose corpseuM,
sculpt corpsf!PG.
These chapters of Aleh Almaktoum are worth 350 gp.
Chapters 6-10: These chapters provide spells to combat
the undead and techniques to prevent their creation.
They include a list of conditions under which undead
can naturally occur, plus symptoms of ghoul fever and
other afflictions. Readers who consult these chapters gain
a +5 competence bonus on Knowledge (religion) checks
regarding undead and on Heal checks to identify and treat
diseases imparted by undead creatures.
If a spellcaster prepares at least five spells from the Aleh
Almaktoum, he can apply the benefits of the Thanatopic
SpelluM metamagic feat to any one spell he has prepared
without increasing its spell level.
Additionally, this section contains the
following spells: 6th-spectral saluqi (see
the sidebar), undeath to death, undeath
ward (Path.finder Campai3n Settin3:
Dun3eons ef Golarion
63); 4th-boneshatter
(Path.finder Adventure
Path #84); 3rd-halt
undead, sands ef timeuM;
o-disrupt undead.
This section of
Aleh Almaktoum is
worth 4.425 gp.
Chapters 11-18:
These pages detail
58
New Spell Among the many rare s pe l l s to be fo und in t he A/eh
Almaktoum is spectral sa/uqi, a s pe l l p opu l a r among
the p h a raohs of An c i e n t O s i r i o n that i s c apab l e o f
s ummon i ng a mag i ca l f l y i n g hound .
SPECTRAL SALUQI
School nec romancy; Level sorcerer/wiza rd 6 , w i t ch 6
Cast ing T ime 1 rou nd
Components V, S, F (a prec ious meta l c an i ne s ta tue
worth 100 g p)
Range c lose (25 ft . + 5 ft ./2 leve ls)
Effect one spect ra l dog
Duration 1 0 m i n utes/ leve l (D)
Saving Throw none; Spel l Resistance no
Th i s s pe l l creates a spec t ra l s a l u q i , an u ndead
can ine resemb l i n g a n overs ized hound w i th b l a ck
f u r, a g ray ru f f a n d ta i l , a n d m i l ky g ray eyes . The
hound s ha res you r a l i g n ment a n d can converse w i th
you te lepath i ca l l y. I t c an see a n d at tack etherea l
c reatu res, a n d otherwise has t he s ame stat i s t i c s a s a
yeth h o und (Pathfinder RPG Bestiary 286) . It u s u a l l y
l eaves no t racks be c au se i t p refers to f l y a n i n c h
a bove t he g r ound . You a re i m m u n e to t he hound 's
bay a b i l i ty. T he hound 's b i te is cons i de red a l i g ned to
any s i n g l e a l i g n ment you possess fo r the pu rposes of
overcom i n g damage redu c t i on .
means by which a necromancer can control or influence
undead, as well as the moral and religious implications
of doing so. If a spellcaster prepares at least three spells
from the Aleh Almaktoum and reads from this section while
doing so, he can apply the benefits of the Threnodic SpelluM
metamagic feat to one spell he has prepared without
increasing its spell level.
These chapters contain the following spells: 7th
control undead; 2nd-command undead; ist-detect undead,
hide from undead (this is an arcane version of the spell
added to the sorcerer/wizard spell list).
This section of Aleh Almaktoum is worth 2,750 gp.
Chapters 19-21: These chapters provide information
on undead creation, and are often omitted from copies
held by nonevil necromancers. This section is believed
to have been penned by Geb himself and added later.
A necromancer who consults these chapters when
preparing spells gains two additional daily uses of his
power over undead arcane school power.
These chapters include the following spells: 9th
canopic conversion (Path.finder Campai3n Settin3: Faction
Guide 60); 8th-3reater create undead, tomb 1e3ion (Faction
Guide 6i); 6th-create undead; 4th-animate dead; 3rd
lesser animate deadvM.
This section of Aleh Almaktoum is worth 4,700 gp.
Boo� of 1,000 Wl]ispers The Book of i,ooo Whispers is the inspiration and primary
guide for the secret society known as the Harbingers
of Fate. Dating from the turn of the 47th century, the
tome was discovered in 4648 AR. It chronicles a series of
prophecies regarding events occurring from 4604 to an
undisclosed year believed to be 4714 AR. Beginning with
Aroden's death in 4606, the prophecies veer away from
actual events and describe a timeline that never occurred.
The tome has been copied a handful of times and
entrusted to high-ranking members of the Harbingers
(see page 26), though not all of the copies include the
esoteric and magical rites described in the original. The
very first copy discovered by Lord Garron is bound in
black leather with an intricate design, common to certain
puzzle boxes, embossed in brass leaf on the cover.
In truth, the book a trick designed to manipulate
the disappointed and desperate. No
author is attributed, though the
Harbingers hold "the Author"
in cultish reverence, and their
conviction drives them more
passionately than threats of
punishment or promises
of power ever could. The
Harbingers' deliberate lack of
outward markers of mysticism
has left them all but unnoticed,
except when their actions give them
away. A testament to the cunning of
the Author, the Book of i,ooo Whispers
has driven the Harbingers to the brink
of insanity without the casting of a
single spell-just dashed hopes.
A copy of the Book of i,ooo Whispers is
worth 100 gp; if it includes instructions
for performing the Ritual of the Whispering
Counsel, it is worth 450 gp.
Pages 1-4: The tome begins with a short prayer to
Aroden, invoking a blessing upon the book and the
reader. Anyone reading or reciting this blessing aloud is
considered familiar with the Author for the purposes of
scryin!J and other divinations.
Pages 5-37: The prophecies on these pages contain
cryptic predictions regarding events to occur between
the year 4604 and the beginning of 4606, which history
has since verified as accurate. The final prophecy on
page 37 is interpreted by most as a reference to Aroden's
supposed return to Golarion and the ushering in of the
Age of Glory.
Pages 38-194: The prophecies on these pages increase
in their abstractness with each passing page, and are
difficult for even the most studious of readers to parse
and place within the timeline. Choice passages from this
section include the following.
59
"CCVLT MYSTERIES
• "The Kingdom of Shadow Unending shall be rendered
insensate, the chain to its Master cut."
• "In the ruins of the Lonely Eye shall rise a throne of •
gold, and the people ofZistrallad shall end their strife."
• "The fiends of the Mother Realm will be slain, their
servants driven into Heaven before the Army ofTwenty
Two Thorns."
• "The liberating blade shall bend before the might of
Lord Anvalxor and his Dragon Warriors."
"Upon the banks of the Dark Lake, the simian shaman
shall fall to the Striking Asp.''
• "After the ascension of the Child ofNone, the people of
Givbrafeth shall put to the sword all but the Niwqan."
• "When the Daughter of the Seventh Branch reclaims
her homeland, the color of Thought shall fade from
the Darkness."
• "Galiti shall be liberated from the rule of
the Crown and become a bastion of peace,
prosperity, and learning."
• "The Nation of the Isle will spread its
borders, and will engulf the Lions, Veils,
and Beetles."
• "All the carillons in the Cloistered
City will shatter in a single peal at the
time ofBeliskiar's death."
• "Where the Shining Champion
once battled the Dust Legion,
the Scarecrow Wars will rage."
• "Visitors who hail from
distant Ormairahep will arrive
atop a moving Island, bearing
gifts from the People of the
Elder Realm."
• "The cornice of a living Yumbiltha
through his heart, the Lord ofNight's Feast will
be cured in the Lands of Fallen Locusts."
• "The Stone of Heaven, Moon, and Stars-its duty
met-shall be returned to whence it came. Alsharashrai
be praised!"
• "Banished to the Realm of Devouring Dreams, the
salient Spire will no longer plague the horizon, and the
Last Siege will end the suffering of the Faithful."
Pages 123-125: The margins of several pages in this
section contain details on the Ritual of Whispering
Counsel, which purports to allow the ritual caster to
commune with the book's mysterious Author. When
performed, the ritual functions as divination, without the
i-week time restriction and without a chance of failure.
The advice given always takes the form of whispers and
always urges the ritual caster toward actions that support
the Author's agenda. The ritual requires the ability to cast
at least one 4th-level divination spell, takes 10 minutes to
perform, and uses 25 gp worth of material components.
The ritual can be performed only once per day; all
attempts beyond the first receive no answer.
TIJe Ioward-facio� Circle Pages 109-144: These pages contain a series of collected
The Inward Facin3 Circle is a rare and lavishly illustrated
treatise on diabolism penned by Coganaris the Wracker.
Coganaris was an early luminary within House Thrune
at the end of the Age of Enthronement, and helped to
shape and define the House's aggressive outlook on the
exploitation of infernal powers.
The volume is bound in rich burgundy leather, and
it is ornamented in silver along the spine, over the
corners, and on the clever lock that seals in its secrets.
A miniature magical circle diagram is also embossed
in silver on the cover. Inside, the crisp pages of high
quality parchment complement Coganaris's immaculate
and precise calligraphy. Each word is penned in bright
red, evoking the blood of an infernal creature, which
never darkens to rust.
The book's last known whereabouts place it in the
possession of agents of the Pathfinder Society, though
other copies of the book might exist, especially in the
libraries of the diabolists of House Thrune.
A complete copy of The Inward-
Facin3 Circle is worth 2,255 gp.
Pages 1-36: Coganaris
offers his perspective
on how souls are judged
and become petitioners.
This knowledge, he
writes, is necessary to
understand the nature
of fiends. According to those
Pharasmins who have viewed
the work, the descriptions contained
within are fundamentally accurate, if
biased in favor of Hell.
Pages 37-72: The Wracker details how the
damned are herded like cattle to specific layers
of Hell, where every memory is winnowed and burned
away like chaff as the souls become lemures. Coganaris
instructs the reader that a devil is nothing but another
soul, albeit one with delusions of grandeur, and the reader
should suffer neither threats nor intimidation from one
who is, at best, only the reader's peer-and quite possibly
less, considering that the reader is still alive and the
devil-changed soul was too stupid to avoid either death
or damnation. Consultation with this chapter grants the
reader a +2 circumstance bonus on Knowledge (planes)
checks concerning devils.
Pages 73-108: Coganaris provides a 4-page overview
of each layer of Hell, with at least one illustration each.
The illustrations can be used as a substitute for a forked
metal rod attuned to Hell for the purposes of a plane shift
spell-even to travel to a specific layer of Hell, though the
specific arrival point within that layer remains random
as per the spell. The drawings are both gruesome and
accurate in their depictions of Hell's torments.
60
notes and observations of the most common devils
inhabiting Hell. Six unusual magical symbols are worked
into some of the illustrations. With a successful DC 20
Knowledge (planes) check, a character identifies them as
infernal sigils. In this section, Coganaris's usually precise
choice of words gives way to several awkward paragraphs.
A character can confirm he is writing in code with a
successful DC 20 Linguistics check, and with a successful
DC 30 Linguistics check, she cracks the code. The true
names of six devils that correspond to the sigils can be
deciphered. Of the six, four are lesser devils, and two are
greater devils, and all are among those currently bound to
the Chelish royal court.
Pages 145-180: This chapter is a collection of spells
Coganaris declares essential to basic diabolism, and
includes the following spells: 8th-3reater planar
bindin3; 6th-planar bindin3; 5th-lesser planar bindin3;
4th-a3onize (Path.finder Campai3n Settin3: Princes of
Darkness, Book of the Damned, Vol. 1 46), dimensional
anchor, sacrifice (Princes of Darkness 47); 3rd
ma3ic circle a3ainst evil; 2nd-communal
protection from evauc.
Pages 181-216: Within this
chapter, Coganaris reveals
some of his greatest
discoveries. The Wracker
instructs the reader
on how to construct a
diagram and a special
circle made of silver
that can be repeatedly
charged with magic by
casting the alternative inward-facing
version of the ma3ic circle a3ainst evil spell on it
this variant of the spell allows the caster to capture and
contain a summoned outsider.
Unlike the ring of powdered silver normally used
when casting ma3ic circle a3ainst evil, a permanent circle
is embedded in the floor and so cannot be broken by
such things as a careless footstep or a gust of wind. A
permanent circle requires 500 gp worth of silver, and the
creator must be able to cast ma3ic circle a3ainst evil and
possess the Craft Wondrous Item feat. The creator must
also succeed at a DC 20 Spellcraft check (as described in
the spell) or the effort is ruined and the materials wasted.
The circle possesses no inherent magic; rather, it's
imbued with magic when a spell is cast upon it.
Finally, Coganaris instructs the reader on the best
practices when haggling with an infernal entity. His
insights into the infernal mind give the reader a +S
circumstance bonus on opposed Charisma checks to
negotiate with a devil after casting planar bindin3 or a
similar spell. This includes coercing a devil to be bound
to a devil talisman.
Lost Gospels of Thbris Hidden for centuries by the Esoteric Order of the
Palatine Eye, the Lost Gospels of Tabris are the central
codices from which the order draws its strange occult
teachings of mortal enlightenment. Recovered under
mysterious circumstances by the gentleman adventurer
Aldus Canter, the Lost Gospels are the source of endless
speculation among Golarion's scholars. Canter found
the disintegrating scrolls within a sepulcher deep in
the Osirian Desert, and their guardian-the desiccated
husk of a formerly angelic being-claimed to be Tabris,
the author of the Book of the Damned. However, it has
never been proven whether the guardian was indeed the
fallen author or rather some other silver-tongued entity
intent on mankind's corruption. The mystery of the Lost
Gospels' true author persists, with the order perpetuating
the legend and the presumption that
the texts will usher in a golden age of
divine enlightenment.
The order secretly preserved the aging
parchments through means both magical
and mundane, and housed them in the
Necropolis of the Faithful in Sothis.
Here the fragments were mounted
on a long roll of enchanted linen
and wound between intricately
carved rods. One of the text's
enduring mysteries is that
scrolling back and forth
between chapters reveals
slight variations between
readings, with a word missing
here or a misplaced phrase
there-variations that consumed
Aldus with madness in his later years.
The order is convinced the gospels are
the true account of creation and key to
the rebirth of the primordial god Ihys,
the murdered brother of Asmodeus. The leadership's
intense interest in recovering the Ihystear-the fragment
of the spear used to murder the proto-god-lead many to
question the gospel's true contents.
The scroll-bound fragments account for over 1,000
pages of text written in a spidery, sprawling Celestial,
and contain what the order purports to be the secret-or
blasphemous-history of the universe, interwoven with
nearly indecipherable rituals and powerful spells.
The original copy of the Lost Gospels ofTabris is a minor
artifact, as are each of the few meticulously replicated
and translated copies that exist in the secret libraries of
the order. Numerous lay translations exist that lack any
of the full text's magical abilities, spell transcriptions,
words of power, or instructions for creating golems;
each is worth 100,000 gp for the translations' rarity and
curious nature alone.
6 1
"CCVLT MYSTERIES
Gospel of Azhia: This account purports to be notated
whispers collected by Tabris from the near-dead god
Azhia, whose dying corpse is endlessly feasted upon in •
the court of the archdevil Baalzebul. The gospel claims
the deity witnessed the sundering of the two spheres
of the Great Beyond as they split, mitosis-like, in the
womb of the Astral Plane. As such, the themes of rebirth
and creation that obsess the order are rife within these
fragments, and primordial scripts within contain the
recoverable essence of spells such as acid fo,g, ash storm0M,
caustic eruption°M, clashin,g rocks'PG, cloudkill, create demiplane,
hun,gry pit"PG, incendiary cloud, and major creation.
Gospel of Ihys: Fragmented and incomplete, this
gospel is purported to be the translated echoes of Ihys's
death-scream collected by Tabris through communion
with the Ihystear. The spear fragment is said to hold in its
reverberations all knowledge possessed by the
proto-god on the secret creation of
the universe until the moment
of his murder. The words of this
text are a mass of formless symbols
until they coalesce into primitive Celestial
upon reading. These pages contain a number
of words of power (Path.finder RPG Ultimate
Ma,gic 162), including all change, illumination,
language, life, power, and time words.
Gospel of Maelissikek: The author ostensibly
collected these mutterings from a protean lord named
Maelissikek, who witnessed the parsing of the Outer
Sphere. This chapter is littered with the
complicated hierarchies and
dominions of thousands of
powerful outsiders-including
the true names of many. The
order is quick to warn that the
passage of time or the deception of
the chronicler might taint the names' power
or relevance. This gospel includes the following spells:
astral projection, bindin,g, ,gate, ,greater planar bindin,g, and plane
shift. The ,gate spell described is unique in tliat each casting
opens a gate to an Outer Plane location containing a ruined
sepulcher that matches Aldus's description of Tabris's
tomb in Osirion. What secrets lie witliin these identical
sepulchers is a source of endless debate and daring
exploration among the order's most powerful members.
Psyric Psalms: These haiku-like verses shift syllables
in an intricately numbered sequence, and contain
blasphemous accounts of the deities' experiments with
the titans and the creation and ascendancy of mortal life.
Within the pages are many accounts of so-called "false
starts" to life that act as magical ,golem manuals for clay,
flesh, and stone golems. This chapter contains a single
page fragment totally covered in dripping black ink; this
page acts as a ba,g of devourin_g for anyone foolish enough
to explore its dark depths.
Secrets of tl)e Dreami»� Dar� Secrets of the Dreaming Dark is an anonymous work
originating from late in the Age of Darkness, when the
void between the stars had never been deeper. Its pages,
written in dense Aklo, have been transcribed numerous
times, but never completely. Many of these incomplete
copies of the book still exist, but only seven complete
copies of the original (itself long lost) are thought to
still survive. All seven copies are bound in identical
midnight-black shantak leather. Complex star charts,
tangled equations, and baffling maps of strange worlds
disrupt the text, along with painstakingly detailed images
of the hideous creatures that dwell in and beyond the
Dark Tapestry. Full comprehension of the text requires
mastery of the Aklo tongue and years of toil, but the gist
of its contents can be absorbed by spending
96 hours studying the tome and
then succeeding at a DC 35
Linguistics check.
A complete copy of
this book is considered
a minor artifact, while
incomplete versions are
worth the total value of
the components present.
Pages 1-195: Roughly
the first half of the immense
book is a tangled and often self
contradictory investigation into
hundreds of worlds said to exist in
or be touched by the Dark Tapestry.
A fragment concerning the neh
thalggu of the Dominion of the Black
is the most detailed, yet even this section
on their mysterious interstellar empire
remains vague. Those who use this section
of the book as a reference when attempting Knowledge
checks related to the Dark Tapestry or its inhabitants (save
the Great Old Ones and Outer Gods) gain a +io bonus on
such checks and can attempt such checks untrained.
This portion of Secrets of the DreaminJJ Dark is worth
10,000 gp.
Pages 196-239: This section of the book focuses on the
manipulation and alteration of certain spells normally
limited to the summoning of outsiders from other
planes. When using this section of the book as a focus
while casting planar ally, planar binding, their lesser and
greater variants, or gate, the spellcaster can use the spell
to instead conjure creatures from the Dark Tapestry.
However, these pages offer little advice on how to protect
oneself from such entities.
This section of the book is worth 5,000 gp.
Pages 240-281: This section of the book feels almost
rushed, as if the unknown author were afraid of going
into full detail on the subject, or perhaps feared offering
62
too much information. These pages focus on the various
Great Old Ones and Outer Gods associated with the Dark
Tapestry, and can aid Knowledge checks concerning this
subject as detailed above for the Dark Tapestry, save that
the bonus granted is only +4.
This section of the book is worth 1,600 gp.
Pages 282-317: This section, composed mainly in
haunting verse, compiles no less than 6i different dreams,
apparently recorded from as many different subjects. Each
dream features themes from the Dark Tapestry, and each
entry is appended with a date and cause of death. While
theories abound, no one has yet determined how these
dates and deaths relate to the dreams themselves. If one
studies these pages and then augments her next sleep with
certain rare drugs, there is a small chance her
mind will be touched by one of the entities or
intelligences alluded to in the manuscript.
Most such visitations result in the dreamer
taking 4d6 points of Intelligence drain,
but in some rare cases (5% of instances)
the dreamer wakens to find that her
Intelligence score has permanently
increased by 1d3 and she has
permanently lost the ability to
dream (preventing further use of
this section of the book).
This portion of Secrets of the
Dreaming Dark functions only
in complete versions of the
book. In an incomplete volume,
this section of the book is worth
2,000 gp.
Pages 318-371: This section of
the book is the one that causes
many spellcasters to seek out
the tome. It contains dozens of
strange, rare, and often dangerous arcane spells tied to
tlie Dark Tapestry. Frustratingly, the spells in each of the
seven existing copies are different, and often incomplete,
forcing those who wish to learn them to acquire multiple
copies of the book in order to reconstruct them.
The value of this section depends on the total scribing
cost ofthe spells within (Pathfinder RPG Core Rulebook 219).
Pages 372-404: The final pages are tlie tome's most
maddening and mysterious, for here, in all surviving
copies, an unknown hand has blotted out tlie majority
of tlie words witli a tenacious black ink tliat resists all
attempts at removal by means both magic and mundane,
and defies attempts to see through it. The only legible
worse on tliese pages include "house," "home," and in one
single case, "firmament" (this one word being the only
word in the entire book written in red, whereas tlie rest of
the book is written in black-this is also tlie only time tlie
word firmament appears in the tome). Any strange secrets
that lie hidden beneatli the ink have yet to be revealed.
Vnitin� tl)e flesl) Although thousands of pages of captions and descriptive
footnotes annotate Uniting the Flesh, the only actual sentences
in the text of this oversized collection of 1,986 plates are the
postscript, a formal farewell from the author-a mysterious
artist-scholar known only by a signatory "V." Anatomical
dissections, ecorches, skeletal studies, circulatory atlases,
unflinching depictions of exposed organs, and a graphic
encyclopedia of abnormalities straddle the line between
artistry and grotesquery in this portfolio. Few scholars can
accept that this collection of masterpieces, crafted with
such precision and surgical detail, exists merely for art's
sake. While the mysterious "V" gives no explanation of his
or her purpose, numerous scholars have offered their own
interpretations and companion studies. Of these theses,
three stand out as the most recognized
and provocative.
By itself, a copy of Uniting
the Flesh is worth 2,000 gp.
Bonds and Red Rivers:
In Bonds and Red Rivers: The
Paths Within, the Rahadoumi
mystic Sutreiv Abdonnovi
reveals numerous patterns
found within Uniting the Flesh.
The treatise posits that some
divine consciousness inscribed
countless messages within each
mortal body and that individuals
can, through meditation and minor
bloodletting, gain revelations into
hidden potentials. While Bonds and
Red Rivers offers few answers, many
Garundi athletes and philosophers
laud the text for its insight into the
links between body and soul. If a reader
spends a day studying Bonds and Red Rivers and then
attempts to retrain a class feature, the amount of time
required to retrain that class feature is reduced by 2 days
(to a minimum of 1 day).
A copy of Bonds and Red Rivers is worth 10,000 gp.
A Healer's Anatomy: Since 4300 AR, Uniting the Flesh
has been paired in Qadiran universities with Khimeh
Asopha's A Healer's Anatomy. Asopha's text makes frequent
references to the older work, employing its illustrations to
instruct doctors in diagnosing conditions and performing
complex operations. A Healer's Anatomy is widely held as
a seminal work for all healers who eschew magic. Any
reader who spends 10 minutes referencing both Uniting
the Flesh and A Healer's Anatomy can immediately attempt
a Heal check to provide long-term care or to treat deadly
wound with a +2 bonus on that check.
A copy of A Healer's Anatomy is worth 4,000 gp.
Rites: The least known of the companions to Uniting the
Flesh is Gostain's Rites. Gostain, a fanatical devotee ofZon-
63
"CCVLT MYSTERIES
Kuthon, is best known for establishing a 300-member
congregation of Kuthites only to slaughter them in a
mass sacrifice near the Vale of Shadows. Gostain vanished •
soon after, but his three surviving acolytes found a copy
of Uniting the Flesh in the caves he inhabited, along with
a journal written in Common and Infernal. The journal
details an interpretation of Uniting the Flesh that it claims
transforms the body into a "living sacrifice" and opens
one's metaphysical gate to the Promised Perfection. The
method is baffling and beyond painful, and even the most
devout Kuthites balk at its attempt. Yet this hasn't stopped
the church from widely circulating Gostain's teachings
and copies of Uniting the Flesh among its senior members.
Any nongood character can use Rites as part of a 7-day
ritual. This ritual can be performed only
on oneself, not on other creatures. Every
day, the character must succeed at a DC
20 Fortitude saving throw to withstand
the torture he's inflicting on himself,
or the ritual ends immediately. If
the character succeeds at all seven
saving throws, he gains a permanent
negative level and a portal opens
to the realm of Xovaikain on the
Plane of Shadow. An ostiarius
kyton immediately (Pathfinder
RPG Bestiary 4 176) steps through,
holding a black gem. The kyton
congratulates the character
on proving his worth and
claims the gem is the cage
bearing the character's "true
will." It then offers either to
take the character to a realm
of indescribable revelations
Xovaikain, the domain of Zon-Kuthon and the kytons
or to open the gem, granting the character a wish. Simple
wishes have a greater chance of being fulfilled to the
character's expectations; more elaborate wishes are often
fulfilled with a physically or psychologically torturous
twist. The kyton and the portal vanish after 7 minutes or at
the conclusion of negotiations. A character who performs
the ritual a second time is offered only passage through
the portal.
Any character who accepts the kyton's wish is marked.
Within 2d12 hours of the character's death, an ostiarius
returns to claim the body-the character is always treated
as being lawful evil for the purposes of an ostiarius's plane
shift ability. If the ostiarius is forced to flee or the character
is resurrected, an ostiarius appears every subsequent
time the character dies, often with more powerful kyton
allies, until the kytons claim the character's body. If the
character travels with the kyton to Xovaikain, his end is
immediate and unspeakable.
A copy of Rites is worth 150,000 gp.
Open Game License Version 1 .oa
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Open Game License v i.oa © 2000, Wizards of the Coast, I n c.
System Reference Document © 2000, Wizards of the Coast, I n c.; Authors: Jonathan Tweet, Monte Cook,
and Skip W i l l i a ms, based o n material by E. G a ry Gygax and Dave Arneson.
Poltergeist from the Tome of Horrors Complete © 2011, Necromance r Games, I nc., pu bl ished and d i stri buted
by Frog God Ga mes; Author: Scott G reene, based on origi n a l material by Lewis Puls i pher.
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J i m G roves, Brandon Hodge, J a m es Jacobs, Erik Mona, F. Wesley Schneider, and Jerome Virn ich .
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